JOIN USSteps to stem spurt in illegal housing co-operatives soon
In an effort to check the mushrooming of illegal house building co-operative societies (HBCSs), the Karnataka Housing Board plans to consult the government to work on the modalities to put an end to the menace.
Housing Minister V Somanna said that as HBCSs were governed by multiple departments, they were making the most of loopholes in the system.
Pointing out that even KHB was a victim of HBCSs, as they were acquiring and hoarding land illegally, Somanna said: “We (government) are unable to monitor the functioning of such societies that illegally employ middlemen to acquire land and hoard it, making it difficult for agencies like KHB to acquire land.”
Observing that KHB has, for the first time, decided not to enter into an agreement with any general power of attorney holder and all officers have been directed only to pay farmers directly so as to prevent them from being cheated, Somanna said the KHB ensured that farmers are not cheated while acquiring land.
Five-acre land
On the evictees of the economically weaker section quarters in Ejipura, Somanna said:
“Although it was not directly our responsibility to house these people, as they were illegal occupants, we have identified a five-acre land in Varthur to build houses for them. The Cabinet has given its nod for the project.”
The Karnataka Housing Board has launched a new project, Swami Vivekananda Nagar, to be developed on 2,500 acres in Jigani.
As many as 50,000 sites and houses will be developed in Jigani at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore. “We will be spending Rs 450 crore only on providing water here,” the Housing minister informed.