JOIN USAs hundreds of houses are being bulldozed to clear encroachment of stormwater drains, the ugly truth of official connivance in altering maps and documents is coming out in the open.
The bulldozers are out there, levelling entire neighbourhoods in an unprecedented, dramatic demolition drive. But as houses big and small are being flattened to reclaim supposedly encroached storm water drains, an uncomfortable truth has surfaced: Why were they allowed to be built?
Owners of the razed houses are crying hoarse. The BBMP had issued them all the necessary approvals, they reason, wondering in disbelief how their properties could suddenly turn illegal. The answer should be obvious: A nexus so devious that title deeds were fabricated even for land earmarked for drains and lakes!
Admission of fraud
It is not as if the state machinery was not aware. But the recent floods triggered by breached lakes have forced a wake-up from its convenient slumber. Overnight, it has conceded that its officials are no more reliable. Twenty officials and at least eight builders and developers have been booked for fraud.
This is a big admission of ‘official’ wrongdoing. Geographical details in village maps were deliberately ignored while preparing the city’s master plan to approve layouts and residential buildings. What has been left unsaid is this: Encroachment of lake land and drains were conveniently glossed over.
Master Plan mischief
The Master Plan has been the first mischief. Legally, it has to be prepared in consonance with the century-old revenue records. But in the last 40 years, the planning authority ignored many topographical details such as storm water drains, tanks, hillocks, pasture land, forest and kharab land.
While converting the land use, the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and special deputy commissioners have a clear mandate: They should direct the land owner not to meddle with the drains, canals, and tanks. It is now clear that many DCs and special DCs did not notify the presence of these drains in their order.
Reason: They succumbed to pressure and greed. Rest of the damage is done by the land acquisition officers and approval authorities, who too ignore the presence of these contours in the layout plans.
The average urban buyer of plots gets comfort from holding onto a registered sales/title deed and a khata. “Unfortunately, the khata does not carry the link with the underlying revenue/village survey number and the village map. Today, all the problems you see is because of this lack of linkage. So there is no way of knowing for the buyer if there was an underlying drain,” elaborates Bengaluru Blue Print Action Group member, V Ravichander.
Since there is no connection between the mostly textual sale deeds and spatial maps, position of plots is highly prone to be manipulated by land sharks. Mischief is possible even at the village accountant’s level. Planning authorities overlook these critical gaps while carving out layouts. Implication is clear: The master plan offers no comfort to the buyers.
Missing drains
Take the case of Shubh Enclave between Kasavanahalli and Kaigondanahalli on Sarjapur Road. BBMP says this layout was responsible for the flooding on July 28 and 29.
Storm water drains inside this layout are clearly missing from the master plan, although the Grama Naashe (village map), Pahani (RTC: records of Rights, Tenancy and Crops) and the Tippani (revenue notes) show their presence.
Based on the faulty master plan, the layout was formed, and approvals were given by the erstwhile Panchayat and City Municipal Council (CMC). Once building plans were approved, people constructed houses. Overturning all this, BBMP is now on a demolition spree and has so far bulldozed 10 houses.
Similar is the case with Venkatarayana Kere (tank) in Survey Number 8 of Gubbalala village in Uttarahalli Hobli. The entire tank spread across four acres and 15 guntas is missing from the master plan although the RTC, Tippani and village map depict the Sy No 8 as a tank.
While acquiring land for the formation of Banashankari 6th Stage, the land acquisition officer of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) showed it as an 'A' kharab land, fit for layout formation.
Property owners will obviously be in the dark when BDA formed and allotted as many as 124 sites, each measuring 600 sq ft. During last fortnight’s torrential rains, the entire layout was brimming with water and people had to take shelter in the first floor of their buildings.