BBMP to slap notices on builder

Railways undertakes eviction drive near Mantri Mall

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to slap three show-cause notices on Hamara Shelters, a subsidiary of Mantri Developers.

The notices pertain to grabbing government land, getting a TDR against government land and taking away a portion of the Jakkarayanakere Lake BBMP playground.

BMRCL has entered into an agreement with Hamara Shelters to construct the Metro Railway Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis for 99 years. The developer will not only part with his 5.04 acres of land, but also build a station for Namma Metro.

However, a BBMP report has revealed that the developer actually does not possess the two acres of land where the proposed Metro Station is coming up. The land actually belongs to the government, the Railways and a BBMP lake.

Major fraud

Not just this. Palike sources said, the builder has committed another major fraud. He has grabbed the government land, handed it over to the Palike for construction of a ‘road’ and got Transferable Developmental Rights (TDR) against it. The same ‘road’ was later on sold to the BMRCL for constructing a railway line.

The BBMP has now asked the State government to initiate criminal proceedings against the officers of the City Survey Department, who had surveyed the controversial area in 1975, and had excluded the lake, the road and the government land.

“The lake, road and the land existed in the village survey map. But when the City Survey Department surveyed the area in 1975, it excluded them. This criminal negligence is unpardonable. We have asked the government to identify the officers and initiate action against them, if they are still alive,” a Palike officer said.

According to Palike sources, the Railways conducted an eviction drive near Mantri Mall, but it has left another major portion near the controversial Swastik Metro Rail Station untouched.

Anti-encroachment drive

Based on the Deccan Herald report on Saturday, the department of Railways carried out a major anti-encroachment drive on Sunday. However, another major chunk of land near the  Jakkarayanakere Lake area has been left untouched.

Public Relations Officer of the South Western Railways (SWR), Suwankar Biswas, said:
“The engineering section is looking into the matter and will not allow the property to be grabbed.”

Firm denies charges

Condemning the BBMP report on land grabbing near Mantri Mall in Malleswaram, Mantri Developers has categorically denied the charges against it.

In his reply to the Palike, the builder called himself a law-abiding citizen and gave details about those he has acquired the property from, in a legitimate manner.

Sources in the Palike, however, rebutted the builder’s claim, stating that the survey could not be trashed, as it was carried out jointly by the Palike and the Survey department. This was later authenticated by the Commissioner of the Survey Department, they said.