Work on at the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday upheld the notifications concerning the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda project, observing that the acquisitions made were 'just and proper'.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice PS Dinesh Kumar and Justice CM Poonacha also granted three months to landowners who did not register for site allotment, exempting them from paying the initial deposit.
"The BDA shall treat the applicants as being entitled to priority allotment and allot each of them a site measuring 30 feetx40 feet in the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout at the prevailing allotment prices, subject to the applicants satisfying the dual requirements of allotment under the rules that they must be the residents of Bengaluru (for 10 years) and should not be owning any residential property in Bengaluru,” the court said.
Several landowners challenged the notification for the layout. The preliminary notification was issued on May 21, 2008, and the final notification was issued on February 18, 2010. On July 11, 2014, a single bench had quashed the acquisition notifications.
The BDA submitted that acquisition proceedings of more than 2,700 acres were already completed, and, of which 2,694 acres 26 guntas of land had been handed over to the engineering section for the formation of the layout.
Right now, 26,918 sites have been formed in the land, measuring 2,208 acres four guntas, and allotted to the general public.
The government order dated February 16, 2010, put a specific condition that the entire expenses of the project shall be borne by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) out of its resources and there will be no financial responsibility of the government with respect to the layout.
The bench said that merely because the BDA has taken the approval of the state government, it cannot be said that the same is ‘out of place and premature’.
The bench said that landowners who claim their land as nursery lands, situated within the green belt, built up completely, that the buildings are constructed by religious/charitable educational institutions are permitted to make an application to the BDA asking for dropping their lands from acquisition by producing all material within three months.
"If the BDA is of the opinion that the acquisition will have to be proceeded with, the BDA is at liberty to proceed further in accordance with the law," the bench said, adding that the agency is required to consider and decide such applications within six months.