KG Layout: BDA faces heat over delay

RERA tells BDA to approach SC to clear legal hurdles

Y. Maheswara Reddy | NT

Bengaluru: Disappointed with the Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA’s) inability to complete land acquisition for Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout, the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority has advised the BDA to approach the Supreme Court to ensure all pending legal issues are cleared.

The RERA authorities made this observation while hearing complaints from site allottees at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout on Friday.

“We came to know that BDA authorities are yet to complete land acquisition for developing Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout. We are also not sure whether the BDA authorities would be able to provide basic amenities. We have been waiting for quite a long time for the BDA to complete all pending works at the layout,” said Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout Open Forum president Nuggehalli Sridhar.

It may be recalled that BDA authorities have made a commitment to the RERA authorities to complete the developmental works by the end of December 2021. The members of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout Open Forum have complained to RERA against the delay in completing the developmental works.

They said the BDA, in its recent Board meeting, gave priority to Shivaram Karanth Layout as the Supreme Court had intervened in the matter. They blamed the BDA authorities for keeping site allottees of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout in dark without releasing Rs 650 crore meant for the developmental works at the layout.

“Failure of land acquisition has become a major hurdle for completing the road works at the layout. There are many lands to be acquired from the farmers due to cases pending in the court. There is no connectivity of roads due to incomplete land acquisition,’’ said Ashok M, secretary, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout Open Forum.

The site allottees have said that they were compelled to pay heavy interest to the financial institutions for the loans availed to buy the sites and also for not constructing houses within the specified time. “We want the RERA to monitor the progress of developmental works at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout,’’ said Ashok.

Meanwhile, H.R. Shantharajanna, Engineer Member of BDA, has said that developmental works were delayed due to Covid-19 pandemic and recent heavy rains. He has also said the delay in organizing BDA Board meetings to approve developmental works has delayed the completion of developmental works.

It is believed that BDA has kept financial approvals pending as the Chief Minister had directed them to provide a detailed report on financial approvals to carry out developmental works. It is also learnt that BDA authorities have appealed to the RERA to extend the deadline by one year for completing the developmental works at Kempegowda Layout.

However, the RERA authorities have told the BDA that they would consider extending the deadline during the next hearing after inspecting the works.