Ownership dispute erupts over reclaimed BDA land in New Thippasandra

Bengaluru: A private realtor has put up a board on a large piece of land in HAL 3rd Stage of New Thippasandra, staking a claim to the prime property.

This comes just a few months after the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had reclaimed the “encroached property”, which had turned into a dump yard. The authority had also installed a board, warning of legal action against trespassers.

On Tuesday, a new board was installed with details of a lawsuit number OS/3387/2024 and registration number OS/3359/2024. The board reads: “This property belongs to Shanthi Realtors LLP. Trespassers will be prosecuted”.

The realtor has apparently removed the board installed by the BDA in May last year, claiming ownership of the property. Before installing the board, the authority had cleaned up the entire area, which had been used for dumping materials for several years and had become a hub for anti-social elements.

Besides fencing the property, the BDA had also planted several saplings along with iron guards. Some residents volunteered to water the plants almost daily. The transformation of the reclaimed property was so successful that a variety of birds started visiting the area in large numbers.

Mohan Dasari, a resident of CV Raman Nagar and an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, expressed shock on seeing the board.

"The BDA park in Geethanjali Layout has become a property of a realtor overnight. I’ve known this land, located next to Sishu Gruha school, for the last 15 years. It’s a civic amenity (CA) site earmarked for a park. How can anyone register the property so suddenly? If this is allowed, one day such boards may even appear at the BDA head office,” he said.

Dispute dates back to 1989 

The dispute over the ownership of the property — which is an amalgamation of five sites — reportedly dates back to 1989.

Residents of the area want the BDA to mount a strong legal challenge to take custody of the civic amenity site.

BDA Commissioner N Jayaram said he was unaware of the board installed by the realtor. “I will look into this,” he assured.