'Take a call on unauthorised layouts'

Legislative Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Wednesday told the state government to take a stand on regularising unauthorised layouts in urban areas after several legislators raised the issue.

According to Urban Development Minister U T Khader, a circular, issued in March 2017, made it mandatory for a layout to have been approved by the department of Town and Country Planning or an urban development/planning authority for getting a khata.

Raising the issue, Sagar MLA Hartal Halappa said several layouts developed with necessary infrastructure were stuck without a khata. Virajpet legislator K G Bopaiah demanded the government to withdraw the circular. “In the region I come from, several old homes have collapsed. Those who want to rebuild them are being asked to get the sites converted,” he said.

According to Khader, the government had framed rules in May 2014 to regularise unauthorised layouts formed before October 19, 2013, by levying a penalty.

However, the Supreme Court stayed this. In an intervention, Speaker Kumar asked Khader to sit with the legislators and resolve the issue.

Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said the state government would “examine” approvals given by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for various housing projects that have come up on land earmarked for the Shivaram Karanth Layout.

Yelahanka legislator S R Vishwanath raised the issue during Zero Hour. “The BDA has approved flats and people have purchased them also. After the High Court quashed notification for land acquisition, many pockets have turned into revenue layouts. What about those who have purchased sites there,” he questioned.

In his response, Parameshwara said the Supreme Court had, in August this year, ordered the BDA to issue a final notification to acquire 3,546 acres for the layout within three months. “Since the court has ordered that all 3,546 acres have to be acquired, we will examine what should be done for projects that were approved by the BDA,” he said.