Hennur Bande

Encroaching

lake bed

Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike

lung space

MAAOA

public interest petition

The 16.09-acre plot inwas meant to be converted into a park, but two houses have now sprung up on the landon a dried up lake in the city follows a set pattern. Theis filled — sometimes by the civic agency, but often by land sharks — with construction debris and sand. After some time, encroachers erect sheds, obtain an electricity connection and eventually claim right over the land. The land is then registered and buildings.It is the case with a small lake near Hennur Bande. The water had dried up and the(BBMP) filled the bed. Encroachers have now erected two houses — said to be worth Rs 50 lakh each — on the land which is part of a 16.09-acre plot that was reserved for a park or a similar. Residents around are up in arms over the encroachment and want the BBMP to evict the encroachers and convert the land into a park.“The area used to be a huge lake at one time,” said Krishnamurthy Kalyanaraman, president,(Mantri Astra Apartments Owners Association) which is located adjacent to the area. “After the lake dried up about a decade ago, the BBMP filled the bed with sand and leveled the land. The civic agency had planned to convert it into a park or some sort of lung space. But now some people have constructed two houses on the land. If this is allowed to go on, the entire plot will be filled with residences and another lung space will disappear. Unfortunately, all our petitions to BBMP have gone in vain. Despite sending more than 20 letters, not even a revenue inspector has visited this place.” The market value of the land runs into several crore rupees.Residents say that the government had allotted part of land to the Karnataka Haj committee, but residents’ associations in the area filed a(PIL) in the High Court of Karnataka against the decision. The residents wanted the area to be converted into a park. In July 2009, the High Court quashed the government’s decision while ruling in favour of residents’ associations. In the same year, the court had also dismissed petitions of a few – seeking quashing of tahsildar’s order directing eviction - in the same vicinity.Residents say they had filed a complaint on June 17 with BBMP against the encroachers and the illegal structures, but there has been no response from the civic agency. “The land had stone quarries and a pond. Some unauthorized constructions sprouted in 2005-2006,” Mohan G, a local resident, told Bangalore Mirror. “These people were subsequently evicted. Now, again some people have started encroaching on the land. Two residences have been built now. The buildings should be razed and this space converted into a park or a water body.”When contacted, the civic agency promised to evict the encroachers. “The issue will be looked into immediately and any such encroachments will be dealt with seriously and persons staying there illegally will be evicted,” B Govindraju, joint commissioner, BBMP (East), told BM.