Demolitions yet again

The demolition of homes in Thanisandra on Thursday without prior warning—the second incident within a fortnight—raises grave suspicion of collusion between officials and politicians.The residents of homes variously described between 13 and 22, were woken up from their sleep and ordered out of their dwellings without sufficient time to take out their valuables.

Thrown under the open skies during a chilling winter, the officials turned deaf to their pleas to prove their bona fides as legal owners. Many of them, as reports suggest, have been living there for over two decades and possess documents pertaining to ownership or tenancy. However, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) dismisses their claims and described the homes to have been raised illegally on its land.

It is not clear as to how the residents were provided power and water connections without the dwellings being legal. Proximity of the homes to a property owned by a powerful politician provides some clue for the sudden and ruthless action even though BDA Commissioner Mr Manivannan maintains that the residents were served notices of demolition. But his inability to provide  evidence of the warning only adds layers to the mystery of encore perpetrated by the BDA.

The BDA will do well by laying down a procedure in cases where the homes have been raised illegally. The Authority must satisfy itself thoroughly as well as leave no scope for post-facto contestation from the evictees. Depriving people of as basic a necessity of life as home without alternative arrangement and adequate time for translocation should be avoided at all cost.