JOIN USCMC, GP neglect turns Khadripura orphan
Residents of Khadripura layout have an orphaned feel, deprived of any administrative care by the City Municipal Council as well as the Kondarajanahalli Gram Panchayat.
Thousands of people reside in Khadripura layout, which is adjacent to Kolar City. Yet, it does not come under the administrative limits of the City Municipal Council. But the residents do not belong to a gram panchayat too, although they voted in the last panchayat election.
Such a condition of ‘hanging in between’ has continued for the residents for several months now.
Twenty years ago
The layout was built in the north-west corner of the City in 1992 by the Karnataka State Slum Clearance Board, as per the Valmiki-Ambedkar Malin Basti Awaas Yojana. Residents, whose huts at Chamundinagar on Tekal Road were gutted out, were shifted to Khadripura, but it was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, for the people.
Most of the residents in the layout belong to Scheduled Castes and Tribes and are employed as manual workers. Water shortage is a major problem in the area, as the only borewell has broken down. The residents are forced to purchase water at Rs 60 a tanker. Or beg the owners of neighbouring farms for drinking water.
The sewage control board was paid the monthly fees, but the staff have not visited the layout for several months now.
Private notice
Meanwhile, the residents were given notice by private parties to empty the area, claiming the place, inclusive of the layout.
“The memoranda submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, City Municipality, Slum Board and Gram Panchayat asking the authorities to look into the matter gave no result,” say the residents of Khadripura.
Ironically, Nagarathnamma, a member of the Kondarajanahalli Gram Panchayat, is a resident of the layout. But she too has been unable to get the Panchayat to provide facilities to the area.
“The layout was created after the City Municipality handed over the land to the Slum Clearance Board. But now there are plans to shift us from here.
We are helped by neither the Municipality, which passed on the responsibility, nor the Gram Panchayat, which won the poll in 2008 using our votes,” complains Shyamanna, Nagarathnamma’s husband.
“Several private parties have visited the layout, claiming that the land is theirs. They address the residents using abusive words, stone houses at night and even make death threats. We live in very dangerous conditions,” says Chikkagundappa, a senior citizen.
Illegal khatas
Even as the residents struggle to overcome such challenges, rumours have risen that illegal khatas of the land in and near the Khadripura layout have been opened during the Urban Ashraya Committee meeting at the municipality last week.
“In view of the Revenue Department officers opening illegal khatas for people on the Municipality land, it has been decided to book a criminal case against the guilty parties,” says K V Suresh Kumar, president of the Urban Ashraya Committee.
“The CMC had purchased up to one acre and 30 guntas of land in Survey No. 33-2 and two acres and six guntas in Survey No. 34-2 for the Khadripura Ashraya Layout on February 18, 2002. Khatas of the land, however, were opened in 2011, creating a lot of inconvenience to the residents,” he added.
Action demand
He added that a memorandum will be submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, asking him to ensure action against the tahsildar, who has permitted the opening of khatas.
Several residents of Khadripura too said it was necessary for the district administration, City Municipality, Gram Panchayat and Slum Clearance Board to act soon on the matter.