Denied compensation, Hennur property owners to move court

Property owners, whose buildings will be acquired for the construction of Hennur flyover, are up in arms against the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for the inordinate delay in paying them compensation. They are planning to move the court if the BDA continues with the flyover work without compensating them.

The walls of houses nestled on the stretch from Hennur Junction till Kacharakanahalli are marked with numerous red arrows notifying the extent of property for acquisition.

KP Murthy, who owns a property in Kacharakanahalli Grama Panchayat limits, pointed out that the flyover work was proceeding at a snail’s pace. “The project is delayed due to the work taken up by the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited at Hennur Cross end; on the Kacharakanahalli side, the project is not edging ahead due to lack of communication between the BDA and the property owners.” 

Pointing towards her house wall, Sharadamma, a resident of Kacharakanahalli, said: “At first, the BDA engineers had marked it at 7.5 metre and then changed it to 9.5 metre. They are not clear about the dimension of properties we need to part with. In 2010, during the initial stage of flyover construction, we received notices about land acquisition. After that, we have not got any notice.”

According to BDA land acquisition officers, the number of structures and properties to be acquired for construction of Hennur flyover are 12 (Hennur) and four (Kacharakanahalli).Some properties listed include Golden Meadows Apartment, Indian Academy Education Trust, Navajeevana Ashrama among others, they said. 

“We do not have any problems over land acquisition, but we need monetary compensation or alternative sites. In August last year, the BDA land acquisition officers visited the area and assured property owners of compensation at the market value of the land in two to three weeks. But till date, no initiative has been taken by them,” said Iqbal Ahmed Razak, who runs a shop on Kacharakanahalli-Hennur Main Road.

A land acquisition official said that the structures have been evaluated and details such as the amount of compensation to be payable worked out. He said the property owners have been issued notices informing them of the extent of the property they have to part with.