Will KG Layout go the way of Arkavathi Layout?

NGT stays development; BDA says got clearances in advance; applicants worried

 The formation of Kempegowda Layout, for which the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had recently invited applications, is likely to get delayed. For, the National Green Tribunal has issued an interim stay on the development and formation of the proposed residential colony.

Applicants are now worried whether the layout will be formed at all and will there be deletion and de-notification as it happened in the case of Arkavathi Layout.

The NGT issued interim stay orders on January 4, 2016, after hearing a petition by Dasegowda Kenchanapura, a resident of Nagarabhavi, and Govindaraju K V, a resident of Kenchanapura. They had approached the NGT stating that the layout had been formed on lakebed and did not have environmental clearance. The next hearing will take place on January 28.

BDA officials, however, maintain that there is “nothing illegal” about the layout and that they are yet to receive an official communication about the NGT order. “No orders have come to us. Once we get them, we will submit all details to the NGT. We started the work on Kempegowda Layout only after obtaining clearance from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority,” BDA Secretary P S Kantharaj asserted.

All aspects considered

SEIAA member secretary Ramachandra said that all aspects were considered before giving clearance.

At that time, the Authority had informed the BDA about lake protection. It also instructed the BDA to instal waste management units and two sewage treatment plants in all lakes. In addition, many conditions were put to the BDA about water entering lakes and their natural features. The development has left applicants worried whether the layout will be formed at all.

One of them, Haridas, said, “The news that the layout is caught in legal hassles is shocking. I have been looking to buy a government site for the last two decades. I am worried that this layout will meet a fate similar to Arkavathi Layout,” he added.

Mayank K, a first-time applicant, said he was considering withdrawing his application.
“I had already heard about Arkavathi Layout and hoped that the BDA will learn from past experiences. Now I seem to be loosing faith and do not want to apply for a BDA site,” he said.

Official admits to ‘some delay’

There will be “some delay” in the formation of Kempegowda Layout as orders have to be obeyed, said a BDA official. “But there will not be deletion or de-notification as the BDA has acquired 12 villages for the formation of the layout between Yeshwantpur and Kengeri hoblis. There are 14 tanks including big ones like Ramasandra, Kommaghatta and Sollikere. None of them has been touched,” the official added.