BDA Struggles with Legal Hurdles, Leaving Site Allottees in Limbo

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is grappling with an overwhelming number of court cases, leaving many site allottees in a state of uncertainty. Data from the BDA indicates that approximately 5,468 cases are currently pending in various courts, with most related to land acquisition and layout formation. Over the past three years, the BDA has managed to resolve only about 2,000 cases, leading to significant delays that have left many BDA properties vulnerable to land grabbers and caused severe connectivity issues in layouts developed by the authority.

One of the most affected areas is the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout, where nearly 600 acres of land have been entangled in a legal dispute for close to a decade. This prolonged litigation has resulted in blocks within the layout lacking proper connectivity, forcing residents to take circuitous routes. “The BDA could not build connecting roads, and even the power lines, water pipelines, and all of these basic amenities had to be rerouted since a few parcels of land were not acquired and were stuck in a legal battle. This made it challenging even for the site allottees to construct houses owing to a lack of even the basic amenities,” explained A S Suryakiran from the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout (NPKL) Open Forum.

Similar issues have surfaced in other BDA layouts. For instance, residents of the Arkavathy Layout 18th Block recently lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta, citing the BDA’s failure to acquire a crucial piece of property in the layout, which has resulted in the absence of an approach road to the 18th block.

Responding to the concerns, BDA Commissioner Jayaram N. acknowledged the existence of such issues but emphasised that the authority is actively working towards resolving them. “Many of the court cases are related to encroached land and people claiming ownership over BDA property. There might be only a few cases where acquisition has caused problems in layouts. We are working towards resolving it,” he said.

The legal hurdles have not only caused connectivity problems in layouts but have also left hundreds of acres of BDA property encroached upon due to the delays in resolving legal disputes. In the past year, BDA officials have managed to recover only around 35 acres of encroached land. Commissioner Jayaram N. noted that legal proceedings are time-consuming, especially when cases are escalated to higher courts, leading to further delays in resolution.

The ongoing legal battles have placed BDA site allottees in a difficult position, as they struggle to build on or access their properties, while the BDA continues to navigate the complex web of litigation that has hampered its development projects.