LAKE ENCROACHMENT REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE
1,545 lakebeds encroached by BD,. BBMP, Panchayat, Private Individuals, Builders and Slum Dwellers.
Government encroachment is like burial ground, school, roads, play ground, civic amenities, offices and other infrastructure for the public.
Whereas, private individuals, majority have farm houses and very few are occupied in agriculture.
Whereas, builders have encroached, constructed or constructing apartments sold or to be sold to innocent buyers. Many have encroached forest land like Sobha and many others encroached Raja Kaluve, Kaalu Daari, Bandi Daari, Gundu Thopu and other public properties and are claiming that they have not encroached or violated any laws and the moment the notice is issued, they approach the court and obtain a STAY ORDER and the suit drags on for years, from lower court to high court and then to The Supreme Court. This is the strategy of the encroacher and land mafia.
The encroachers include:
1). Brigade Group
2). Prestige Group
3). Adarsh developers
4).Oberoi Group
5). D.S.Max
6). R.N.S.Motors
7). Bagamane Tech Park
8). Nisargadhama Estate
9). Nandini Apartments
10). Grass Hooper Resorts
11). Vandana Sagar Apartments
12). Adithya Group
13). Valmark Group
14). Green Wood Group
15). Pushpam Developers
16). R.K.Developers
17). B.R.Valley Park
18). Shriram Group
16).N.D.Developers
17). Oasis Apartments
18). Fantasy Apartments
19). Lake View Apartments
20).Mahalaksmi Apartments
Many other land sharks and land mafia have properties in benami names.
Some of the encroachers are already in the news stating that they have not encroached any property and all their holdings are totally legal as they were doing business for years. Doing business for years does not entitle these builders to encroach and develop lake view apartments
Regularisation for the public amenities like road, burial ground, schools, play ground for the government encroachment, eviction, penalty for private or individual encroaches and relocation to the slum or poorest of the poor may be the only solution.
The House Committee appointed by the State Legislature, on Friday, released its study findings.
The committee, headed by Sri. KB Koliwad, MLA, after visiting 1,545 lakes since October 2014, has identified 11,595 encroachers including leading builders, developers and government agencies. The details of the finding will soon be published in the state gazette and the committee has directed officials to serve show-cause notices to encroachers seeking explanation before taking any action.
The committee had visited 835 lakes (both living and dead) in Bengaluru Urban, and 710 lakes in Bengaluru Rural districts. Interestingly, the lakes in Bengaluru Rural have witnessed the highest extent of encroachment with 6,195.09 acres, while 4,277.25 acres of lake area has been encroached in Bengaluru Urban district.
Committee chairman Sri.KB Koliwad, releasing the findings, said, “Due to rapid growth and ample job opportunities, Bengaluru has seen increased migration from various parts of the country. The sudden influx has triggered a huge demand for housing, leading to encroachment of waterbodies.
Encroachment has been done by both private and public organisations.”
The committee blamed officials who forged documents in collusion with developers and builders.
“At the outset, it has come to our notice that several officials have colluded with developers, builders and converted records, and in some cases created fake records, resulting in the current mess. We will be recommending the government to initiate criminal proceedings against such officials, and will confiscate their properties,” Koliwad said.
BDA, BBMP are the largest encroachers
While the extent of encroachment varies from one lake to another, the largest chunk of encroachment among public entities has been done by the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). While the BDA has encroached 375.13 acres to form layouts, BBMP has encroached 167.2 acres of lake area for various purposes.
There are Government Offices, Burial Grounds, Roads, schools, play ground, park and Public Amenities in the Government Encroached or BDA OR BBMP OR VILLAGE PANCHAYAT ENCROACHED lands. Many of the Government departments do not have any documents related to the encroachments.
Total Number of Lakes :710
Number of Dead Lakes :00
Unencroached Lakes :81
Partially Encroached Lakes :559
Fully Encroached Lakes :70
The committee has directed tahsildars of every taluk to serve show-cause notices to encroachers. “Tahsildars have no power other than serving notices. Assistant commissioners will scrutinise the replies and bring it to the notice of the committee.
Encroachers have been given time till 31 January 2016 to reply to the notices of the district administration, which may be extended by another 8-10 days.
Depending on the response by the encroachers, the committee will decide whether to regularise, levy penalty, evict or provide them with alternative sites or homes,” Koliwad said.
1 lakh crore worth of land grabbed
Taking into consideration the extent of land encroached by both private and public entities, the committee members have estimated the value of encroached land according to the market prices. “Even if we consider that one square feet of land in these areas costs Rs 2,000, then the estimate would total to Rs 1,50,000 Crore. If the cost of one square feet of land is Rs 3,000, then the worth of land grabbed by these land sharks is one lakh crore.”KB Koliwad, MLA.