JOIN USDespite dubious alternative site allotments, CM Bommai backs BDA
Despite glaring examples of norms being violated by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in a written reply in the Legislative Council during the recent session, defended the agency saying there were no irregularities in the allotment of alternative sites.
In a written reply to an “unstarred” question by MLC K Govindaraju, Bommai stated that the BDA allotted a total of 1,428 alternative sites in the last five years and “no irregularity was seen” in the process.
Bommai cited Section 11(A) of the BDA Act, which allows allotment of alternative sites in case there was a mistake at the BDA’s end. “An alternative site can be given only in the same layout in which sites were originally allotted or in the layouts formed by the authority subsequent to the formation of the layout in which the sites were originally allotted,” the reply stated.
Bommai’s list of 1,428 sites does not have the controversial allotment of seven sites in the RMV 2nd Stage to Home Minister Araga Jnanedra, former MP Basavaraj Patil Sedam, MLAs Abhay Patil and Veeranna C Charantimath, former Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) member Dr M Nagaraj, Geetha Reddy, a relative of Urban Development department’s (UDD’s) deputy secretary, and others.
These allotments were against the Supreme Court’s October 2021 order, which allowed disposal of sites formed in developed layouts or recovered properties only through public auction.
DH had reported about the illegal allotment of seven alternative sites on August 9, which led to the removal of then BDA commissioner M B Rajesh Gowda, on August 27. The matter is currently being heard in the Supreme Court.
Notably, Bommai’s 13-page reply mentions the allotment of alternative sites to Gowtam Chand Jain. He was allotted a residential site in Koramangala 1st Block in July, 2022, by flouting rules and court orders.
The report filed by the Justice A V Chandrashekar Committee had found this allotment illegal on multiple grounds as Jain was not the original allottee.
Jain is the fourth buyer of a property that was originally allotted to B R Srinivas Murthy in Banashankari Second stage, around 50 years ago.
When contacted, BDA chairman S R Vishwanath said Bommai’s reply to the Council did not feature the names of the seven alternative site allottees as the matter is in the Supreme Court. He went on to concede that the allotment of the site to Jain was illegal and the BDA would not process the sale deed.
A quick glance through the allotment of 1,428 alternative sites shows that a majority of the allotments have benefited allottees of recently-formed layouts such as Arkavathi, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda and Sir M V Visvesvaraya where they could not build a house.
The list also includes allotment of sites in posh layouts such as HSR Layout, Koramangala 4th Block and JP Nagar but the genuineness of these allotments was not immediately verifiable.