Arkavathy allottees told to accept alternative sites

 The formation of the controversial Arkavathy Layout has got murkier with the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) asking the allottees to accept ‘alternative’ sites so that landlosers could be accommodated in the layout.

With the BDA agreeing to a 60:40 ratio of dividing developed land between site owners and landlosers, many of the allottees face the threat of losing their registered sites.

“The members of the Arkavathy Layout Allottees’ Association (ALAA) have been asked to pay an additional fee of Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000, depending on the dimension of the sites, for an alternative piece of land. Why are the allottees subjected to such trauma of changing their sites for no fault of theirs,” asked Sanjay Marlecha, an ALAA member.

According to the members, as many as 25 allottees, who had sought a status update from the Authority on the formation of the layout, were told to pay the additional fee to ensure that they get an alternative site elsewhere in the layout.

As many as 5,000 allottees, who have already registered their sites, will be affected by the Authority’s decision, they said.

BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhatt told Deccan Herald that the BDA board would, however, bear the additional stamp duty for fresh registrations, if required, while allotting alternative sites.

“We are trying to pacify the farmers who have lost their land for the formation of the layout.

“In case they demand compensation for their land in the form of a developed site, we will have to accommodate the allottees elsewhere in the layout. This is a contingency plan, in case the farmers come up with such a demand,” said Bhatt.

The ALAA has asked the BDA to stop re-allotment of sites to the allottees.

“The then Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena and Pradeep Singh Kharola had assured us that there won’t be any change in the site allotments. What BDA is doing now is a delaying tactic and waste of its time and money,” the ALAA alleged.