Arkavathy Layout: Landing in safe hands

[Eagcres]

Arkavathy Layout: Landing in safe hands
 
BANGALORE: After eight years of uncertainty the anxiety over having invested their hard earned money to buy a site in the jinxed Arkavathy Layout the allottees can now rejoice as Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has initiated the process to start developing the layout within a month by sending notices to the land owners. The land owners also seem to agree to the BDA proposal.
The BDA Commissioner Barath Lal Meena said, “We have sent notices to all the land owners to acquire the land and we have given them fifteen days time to comply. According to the present scheme the land owners can either take the compensation or take 40 per cent of the developed land. We will probably start developing the layout immediately after we get the reply from the farmers.’’
Meena also said that the compensation offered to the land owners has not been revised and the land owners who opt for the compensation will get the compensation originally fixed by the government at the time of issuing  the preliminary notification. However the land owners will also get a complimentary site along with the compensation.
Most of the land owners in Jakkur seem to be eager to take 40 per cent of the developed land as compensation.
Nagraj, one of the land owners, said, “We are yet to get the notices. We have agreed to take 40 per cent of the developed land as compensation for our lands in the meeting with the officials and we will stick to it. They have promised to show us the area in which they will give us the developed land."
A preliminary notification was issued to acquire 3,750 acres of land for the layout on February 3, 2003 and final notification was issued to acquire 2,750 acres of land on February 23, 2004. The BDA partially developed the layout and allotted sites to over 8,800 allottees and registered most of them. Some of the land owners who were fighting legal battles against the acquisition stopped the BDA from developing the layout and prevented allottees from taking pocession of their sites and started to protest.
Despite Supreme Court’s verdict in favour of the BDA, the farmers continued their peaceful protests against the acquisition.
The state government held talks with the land owners and convinced them to part with their lands for the layout and promised to give them 40 per cent of the land as compensation.

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