Arkavathy site allottees lose hope

Following the row over denotification of 983 acres in the Arkavathy Layout by successive governments, the allottees now fear whether they will actually get the sites.

But, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) officials assert that the layout development proceed as scheduled despite the judicial probe ordered into the denotification issue.

Sanjay Malrecha, Secretary of Arkavathy Layout Allottees’ Association said, “We have been waiting for sites since 2003 and now when we are close to getting one, another controversy has cropped up. If the government and BDA officials tell us that they will give us sites elsewhere, we will refuse it. We want the sites that were promised to us nearly a decade ago.”

The allottees questioned whether sites would be really allotted to them as Kempegowda Layout had run into problems and the High Court had objected to it.

Not content with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordering judicial probe, the allottees have sought another independent inquiry from former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde.
They also want an inquiry into the matter in which the case was presented before the High Court by the BDA officials.

Photographic evidence

In the meantime the allottees are also creating a data base on the present condition of the sites. They are collecting photographs of the sites which were allotted to them and photographs of how the sites currently look. They are also creating photographic evidence of what had happened to their sites and surrounding areas over the years, considering the new judicial probe.

But, the BDA officials said that they had not received any communication from the government for not forming the layout.

“We have only heard from the media that there will be a judicial probe into the denotification of land done by the successive governments. Nothing has been told about the layout formation. Sites will be given to the allottees as scheduled. The BDA has no land available anywhere to give allottees 8,000-odd alternative sites.

Giving possession of the sites could take some more time as files may be taken for inquiry. But sites will be given in the Arkavathy Layout only,” an official said.