<p>Residents of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quarters in Ejipura, who became homeless after the building collapsed on November 9, 2003, have announced a protest on June 20 against government apathy.</p>.<p>Neither did the 1,521 families get a new living space nor did they receive compensation despite promises by the BBMP and contempt orders filed in the Karnataka High Court.</p>.<p>“We have been living in rented houses for years now. Many of those who lost their homes 20 years ago are long gone. They never got justice,” said Lakshmana Murthy, a member of the EWS Welfare Association, formed to reclaim their rights.</p>.<p>Members of the association told a press conference on Thursday that the government did not take action against contractors who delayed reconstructing the EWS quarters.</p>.<p>Residents paid for the government-allotted quarters in instalments, despite poor construction and absence of basic amenities.</p>.<p>Authorities built tin shelters as alternative accommodation after the weak structure collapsed, but its substantial quality meant most residents moved to different areas of the city.</p>.<p>They are struggling to pay rent with their meagre income.</p>.<p>“In order to find some way to pay our expenses, we rented out the tin sheds to other families after moving out,” said Shashi Kumar, member of Ambedkar Sena Samiti, a partner organisation that is jointly organising the June 20 protest.</p>.<p>“When the court asked the BBMP to reconstruct our houses, they evicted the tenants and the few original owners staying there. They never constructed the quarters in the end. The project has been moved to various contractors time and again who used it for their commercial benefit,” Kumar added.</p>.<p>Ever since Maverick Holdings took over the project in 2012, petitioners have been shuttling between the site and the BBMP office seeking progress updates.</p>.<p>But the state government rejected the construction plan in 2019, after which construction has been halted in anticipation of approvals.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>MLA blames it on pending approvals</strong></p>.<p>MLA Uday Garudachar, who owns Maverick Holdings, cited pending approvals from the state government for the stalling of the project.</p>.<p>“The bank has already sanctioned Rs 750 crore for the project. We have partially built 140 houses by investing close to Rs 200 crore. The project is, however, held back as two out of the 22 approvals are pending,” he said, without specifying which approvals are pending.</p>.<p>As per the agreement between the BBMP and the builder, the company was expected to build 26 blocks (G+12 floors) for 1,512 houses on a BBMP-owned eight-acre land free of cost. In exchange, the builder was given 7.64 acres for commercial space to be shared between the corporation and the builder.</p>
<p>Residents of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quarters in Ejipura, who became homeless after the building collapsed on November 9, 2003, have announced a protest on June 20 against government apathy.</p>.<p>Neither did the 1,521 families get a new living space nor did they receive compensation despite promises by the BBMP and contempt orders filed in the Karnataka High Court.</p>.<p>“We have been living in rented houses for years now. Many of those who lost their homes 20 years ago are long gone. They never got justice,” said Lakshmana Murthy, a member of the EWS Welfare Association, formed to reclaim their rights.</p>.<p>Members of the association told a press conference on Thursday that the government did not take action against contractors who delayed reconstructing the EWS quarters.</p>.<p>Residents paid for the government-allotted quarters in instalments, despite poor construction and absence of basic amenities.</p>.<p>Authorities built tin shelters as alternative accommodation after the weak structure collapsed, but its substantial quality meant most residents moved to different areas of the city.</p>.<p>They are struggling to pay rent with their meagre income.</p>.<p>“In order to find some way to pay our expenses, we rented out the tin sheds to other families after moving out,” said Shashi Kumar, member of Ambedkar Sena Samiti, a partner organisation that is jointly organising the June 20 protest.</p>.<p>“When the court asked the BBMP to reconstruct our houses, they evicted the tenants and the few original owners staying there. They never constructed the quarters in the end. The project has been moved to various contractors time and again who used it for their commercial benefit,” Kumar added.</p>.<p>Ever since Maverick Holdings took over the project in 2012, petitioners have been shuttling between the site and the BBMP office seeking progress updates.</p>.<p>But the state government rejected the construction plan in 2019, after which construction has been halted in anticipation of approvals.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>MLA blames it on pending approvals</strong></p>.<p>MLA Uday Garudachar, who owns Maverick Holdings, cited pending approvals from the state government for the stalling of the project.</p>.<p>“The bank has already sanctioned Rs 750 crore for the project. We have partially built 140 houses by investing close to Rs 200 crore. The project is, however, held back as two out of the 22 approvals are pending,” he said, without specifying which approvals are pending.</p>.<p>As per the agreement between the BBMP and the builder, the company was expected to build 26 blocks (G+12 floors) for 1,512 houses on a BBMP-owned eight-acre land free of cost. In exchange, the builder was given 7.64 acres for commercial space to be shared between the corporation and the builder.</p>
