BDA land worth Rs 3K cr encroached upon: CM

The state government is taking steps to reclaim more than 300 acres of BDA land encroached upon across Bengaluru, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Friday, pegging its revenue potential at over Rs 3,000 crore.

Speaking in the legislative assembly, Yediyurappa, who is also the Bengaluru city development minister, said scams worth Rs 400 crore had been detected in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and action was being taken. The government has suspended 22 BDA officials since 2019, and departmental inquiry is underway against 12 of them. Show-cause notices have been issued to 19 officials and their responses are being verified, he said.

Yediyurappa said that auctioning corner sites owned by the BDA had helped the government mop up Rs 1,422 crore in the current fiscal year. A total of 1,572 sites have been auctioned, and the revenue generated has exceeded the base price of the sites by 55.76%, he said.

This apart, the government is also trying to resolve issues related to Arkavathi Layout at the earliest. The government will distribute 2,000 sites to farmers who lost their land as well as other site applicants, he said. He also promised to “change the face of Bengaluru” in a year’s time.

Official transfers

The chief minister said existing laws did not permit the transfer of officials and staff from the BDA, which is one of the reasons for corruption in the agency. The government will amend Section 50 of the BDA Act, 1976, to effect the transfer of officials from the BDA to other developmental agencies, he said.

Yediyurappa also said under the Smart Cities Mission, works worth Rs 930 crore were underway in Bengaluru, and four had been completed. Works under 27 projects are being carried out while tenders for the remaining four projects are being processed, he added.