Revenue department, BDA reclaimed over 400 acres in six months

The Revenue Department and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) have recovered over 400 acres of land from encroachers in the last six months, data shows.

The value of the land recovered is pegged at Rs 3,756 crore.

This is, however, minuscule as the total extent of encroached revenue land in Bengaluru Urban district alone was 16,478 acres, as per data tabled in the Karnataka Legislative Council in July 2023.

The land recovered by the Bengaluru Urban district administration includes 38 acres in Bengaluru East, 61 acres in Anekal, 59 acres in Bengaluru South, 85 acres in Yelahanka and 99 acres in North Bengaluru. This totals 343 acres worth over Rs 1,803 crore.

The total extent of land recovered by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is about 62 acres, worth over Rs 1,953 crore, as these sites are located in developed areas of the city. Recovered land includes civic amenity sites, land marked for roads and unsold sites, among others.

While officials insist that recovery of land is a routine exercise, the eviction of families encroaching on public land in Kogilu and Thanisandra made headlines.

“Generally, the eviction drive is conducted following a favourable court order or when the land is earmarked for a project. There are instances where we have learnt about the encroachments only after citizens raised a complaint on social media,” the engineer said.

The eviction drive in Kogilu and Thanisandra, however, drew criticism as affected residents alleged that authorities did not serve a notice in advance.