BENGALURU: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is supposed to be a role model for private land developers and builders, has failed to provide basic amenities at one of its prestigious layouts. It is alleged that the BDA has failed to meet four deadlines fixed by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Karnataka, and also the deadline of the Legislative Committee on Appeals.
The BDA’s latest failure is providing wrong information to a question by Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar during the ongoing Assembly session in Belagavi. Those who bought sites at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout and are waiting for the BDA to provide basic amenities to enable them to begin construction of their dream homes have blamed the BDA for providing wrong information to the State Assembly.
They said that they are not sure which Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout works they are talking about are completed. They said some of the site owners who have commenced construction are finding it difficult in the absence of basic amenities.
As per answer ‘E’ provided to Assembly, UGD, water supply, electrification, SWD, and road formation work across the layout, but those constructing buildings claim that UGD has no connectivity because of land disputes. The BDA claimed that it could not ensure UGD connectivity as some farmers filed petitions in court disputing the acquisition of their land.
“The engineering team points to pending land acquisition issues blocking area formation and establishing infrastructure continuity, which is agreed, but the engineering team failed to complete works on 2,692 acres where sites were allocated in 2016. Most of the developmental works are pending in many areas due to pending third-party audit revalidation, payments to the contractors, and many other unknown reasons,’’ said Surya Kiran, spokesperson of the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout Open Forum.
The engineering team points to pending land acquisition issues blocking area formation–Surya Kiran, NK Layout Open Forum
He added that the BDA built four huge ground-level storage reservoirs, 10 overhead tanks, and 10 sewage treatment plants, and the construction of one electrical substation is in progress, but ironically, none of these are helping a single site owner who started construction.
It is said the BDA gave instructions to the site owners to construct soak pits in the sites or on the road as the existing UGD network is unusable. “I began the construction a few months ago on the 6th Block of the layout. There is no electricity or water. The BDA engineer advised me to dig a soak pit as the UGD is not ready,’’ said Bhaskar Naidu, a site allottee.
Expressing a similar opinion, Varun, a site owner, said that he began construction work three months ago and expected to complete it in a few months. “Around six people have begun the construction of buildings. As of now, there is no water supply, UGD, or electricity. I hope the BDA will provide a UGD facility by the time I complete the construction of my house,’’ he said.
