Another illegal house demolition drive in Bengaluru renders many families homeless

Bengaluru: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on Thursday demolished around 22 structures that it said were illegally constructed in the Thanisandra area.

According to officials, houses, garages and godowns, spread across nearly two acres, were razed and the land, valued around Rs 80 crore, was reclaimed.

However, local residents alleged that the demolitions were carried out without prior notice, leaving many families homeless. Several residents claimed they had been living in the area for nearly two decades and possessed valid documents.

“We have been living here for almost 20 years. We have an e-khata, electricity connection and all property documents. They threw away our belongings and now we don’t even have a place to sleep,” a resident said.

BDA officials said the land had been notified for the Arkavathy Layout project in 2004. “After the notification, one of the land losers illegally carved out sites and sold them, even after receiving compensation from the BDA. Several buyers challenged the acquisition in court, but the verdict went in favour of the BDA. Hence, we had to recover land that belongs to the authority,” a senior official said.

The official added that the demolition drive was conducted after informing residents about the court order and the planned action. “They were informed about the verdict and our decision to remove illegal structures. There are another six houses on an adjoining half-acre plot, which will also be demolished soon,” he said.