Muda has reclaimed over 54.25 acres of prime land and 134 sites in six months which were either being encroached or illegally occupied by people for several years.
The recovered properties are estimated to be worth Rs 342.9 crore. The properties are 15 acres 19 guntas in Lalithadripura, 8.27 acres in Hanchya, 8.31 acres in Hinkal, 6.14 acres in Basavanahalli, 3.27 acre in Sagathahalli, and in Devanuru and Belavatha villages.
The 134 reclaimed sites which were illegally occupied by creating fake documents and constructing structures are worth around Rs 191.5 crore. The authorities claimed that illegal structures were constructed in 14 sites in Devanuru, 13 sites in Hinkal, 12 sites in Vidyaranyapuram, 12 sites in Bannimantap, and sites in Devanuru second stage, Paduvana Road in Kuvempunagar, TK Layout, Belavatha, Dattagalli, and NR Mohalla, Gokulam were demolished, and properties were recovered.
Muda chairman HV Rajeev told TOI, “We are able to recover the properties on the directions from courts. Some of the land losers had approached the court questioning the acquisition. We succeeded in submitting documents to prove the completion of the acquisition,” he said.
Under fire from public
Muda had come under severe criticism from the public for failing to provide compensation to land losers or farmers for acquiring lands for developing layouts. As part of its program to provide sites and houses for people at an affordable price, Muda had acquired land from farmers but failed to provide compensation which forced the landowners to approach the court. In some cases, courts had issued orders to seize Muda’s immovable properties to recoup losses, embarrassing the authority. This delay in providing compensation to the land losers had also led to farmers opposing Muda’s plans to acquire their lands. Due to this, various projects which have been planned are still hanging fire.