BDA's 7,000 acres under litigation

Civic body fighting court cases involving 300 sq ft of land to 2,500 acres

Most of the cases faced by the BDA involve objections raised by private parties. Some cases have been pending in the High Court since 1991 when the first writ petition was filed.

Records in the legal cell of the BDA show the Authority is contesting 976 cases in the High Court. A majority of the cases are related to land acquisition and possession of land after notification.

The disputes over acquisition were recorded over lands measuring 20x15 sq feet to nearly 2,500 acres in some instances. The largest pending land dispute with the BDA is with regard to the Mantri Geo Structures Private Limited. The extent of land involved in this case alone is put at 2,331 acres and 36 guntas at K C Reddy Layout.

The last hearing of the case was in January 2010, and the matter has been postponed indefinitely. Another Mantri company, Mantri Sierra Structures Private Limited is also involved in a dispute with the BDA over land measuring 330 acres and 29 guntas.
Another major land dispute recorded is between the BDA and R Dwarkinath. The extent of land in trouble is 1,381.08 acres across Byatarayanapura and north Bangalore.

Encroachments

Further, the Authority is also facing heat from private parties who had filed Public Interest Litigations (PIL) for alleged encroachment of the ‘Green Belt,’ and Civic Amenity (CA) sites like parks and playgrounds. The BDA is fighting cases even with regard to land acquisitions for failing to give supply of water and also for service matters.

On its part, the BDA is engaged in a continuous process to recover properties, cases related to which were disposed of by the High Court over the past years. During the current calendar year so far, the Authority has recovered 24 acres and 31 guntas worth Rs 362.12 crore. In 2009-10, the recovery amounted to 126 acres and 33 guntas worth Rs 836.39 crore.

Sources state that there is no end to these cases which have placed precious land under litigations. “As we go deeper we will unearth more and more cases filed in the court of law disputing the land ownership,” said a BDA source.