Karnataka high court directed the BDA to file an affidavit containing particulars about its mega project, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout.
The Karnataka high court on Thursday directed the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to file an affidavit containing particulars about its mega project, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout, in a week's time.
Coming down heavily on the BDA, Justice DV Shylendra Kumar said: "The land has been acquired for the project at 'gunpoint'. It was done without an equal bargaining power or level-playing field for land owners. It is not a fair deal; the project is mired in confusion. Even the state government has remained a mute spectator."
"There is a total lack of preparedness and professional approach in preparing this scheme. Out of the 4,814.15 acres mentioned in the preliminary notification, 4,043.27 acres were acquired by way of final notification," the judge observed, while hearing a batch of petitions by land owners, mainly farmers, challenging the acquisition of their lands for the layout.
"No original records pertaining to the plan and scheme of the project were placed before the court. There are no reasons forthcoming with regard to the land left out and also on whether they are in possession of those acquired lands.The track record of BDA doesn't inspire much when we look at the earlier projects it has undertaken," he pointed out.
Citing the example of the Arkavati Layout, the judge said that it was implemented in a truncated manner with sites being distributed in only 750 acres against the acquisition of 2,750 acres.
Directing the BDA commissioner to file an affidavit explaining the current status of the project, Justice Kumar directed the agency to give a comparative figure or a chart indicating the areas with their survey numbers and names of villages acquired in the preliminary notification for Kempe Gowda layout.
The details of the land left out in the final notification should be furnished with the pictorial depiction.
The BDA counsel submitted to the court that it is now offering Rs70-80 lakh compensation and one site per acre or 40% of the developed land to the land owners as an incentive.
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