BBMP gives A khatas, then demolishes houses!

Ahna Prakash| NT

Bengaluru

In a clear indication of the topsy-turvy manner in which land purchases are registered and building approvals are granted in BBMP limits, houses owners who saw their buildings being demolished as part of the recent anti-encroachment drive, have claimed that many of them have A-khatas and wondered why they were issued in the first place if the building was illegal?

The Karnataka government had recently ordered the civic body, BBMP to demolish houses which have illegally encroached on stormwater drains in the city following widespread rains which exposed the faulty drainage system.

Now, several people claim their houses which are built on stormwater drains, have been given A Khata by the civic authorities themselves.

Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, Sancharak, Karnataka Home Buyers Forum, says that even after going through three layers of verification i.e revenue land conversion, bank loan approval and registration, the government is demolishing houses.

“People in Rainbow Layout and other places have got their certificate approvals from revenue department officials. The authorities approved all these houses that are being demolished so why should the land owners suffer now? The land purchase has to pass through three layers of approvals, and even after that, they have been issued A khata certificates. So, there must be a fault in the way it's checked. Now if the government comes and demolishes houses, why should people leave when it’s the officials who are at fault?” he asked.

“The government should not penalize innocent home buyers, if they want to penalize someone, they should penalize their own officials and politicians who made the mistake of issuing the certificates,” he added.

Govardhan Rao, a resident of AECS layout, who claims that he has a A khata, says his house was demolished in the recent drive by BBMP. “My house was built after taking all approvals from BBMP and it was still demolished after getting a notice three days before demolition. why would I take loans and go through the process if the authorities are not sure about their certification,” he said

Another city resident, Jayashankar expressed his anger against the demolition drive.

“People buy property after seeing all the certificates. Now the officials are coming after so many years and saying that our houses are built on stormwater drains. If they want to demolish something, they should demolish the stormwater drains and not people’s houses,” he said.