Land acquisition: ‘BMRCL dictating terms to govt’

Hearing a petition on the acquisition of land near the South End Circle for the metro project, the high court of Karnataka on Friday pulled up the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). The court observed that the state government appeared to have ‘surrendered’ to the BMRCL.

Hearing the petition challenging the land acquisition, justice DV Shylendra Kumar said, “The BMRCL prepares metro routes on its own, without showing the route map to anyone.” The court also observed that the BMRCL appeared to be dictating terms to the state government. “This is a sorry state of affairs,” the judge said. The court has directed the BMRCL to file a statement of objections before January 6, 2011.

The petitioners complained that the acquisition of part of their properties had been done in an erratic manner. They said that lands with buildings were acquired for the construction of the South End Circle station of the metro. While the preliminary notification for land acquisition was for 2,255 sq m, the final notification increased it to 2,530.583 sq m. The petitioners alleged that the state government too had chosen to retain land and buildings of some people, while paying scant regard to the properties of others. They alleged that influence with the state government mattered when it came to the ability to save one’s property.

The petitioners also complained that the state government virtually tricked them and the court, having them believe that similar writ petitions filed by other petitioners had been dismissed.