Sakrama scheme challenged in High Court

The State government on Friday told the High Court that it would file its objections to the PIL on Akrama-Sakrama scheme, within a week.

Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development has filed the PIL challenging Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Regularisation of Unauthorised Development or Constructions) Rules, 2014, commonly called as ‘Akrama-Sakrama’ scheme.
The State government had filed a caveat petition beforehand, seeking an opportunity of being heard before the court passing any ex parte order. During the hearing, the principal government advocate R Devdas took notice in connection with the PIL and sought time to file objections.
 A division bench comprising Justices K L Manjunath and P B Bhajantri directed the government to file objections and adjourned the matter to March 13. The applications for regularisation of land and building violations under the scheme will be accepted from March 23.

The bench asked the government not to accept any such applications.Jayna Kothari, the advocate for the petitioner, contended regularisation would go against the very principles of town planning, the provisions of the Constitution.

The judgements of the Supreme Court also say regularisation could be permitted only in the rarest of cases as a one-time measure and certainly not when it is willful and deliberate. The petitioner also sought the court to constitute an expert committee for a study on the extent of violation of building plans.