Bengaluru, Dec 29 (IANS) After the intervention of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the Congress-led Karnataka government, on Monday, announced alternative houses for those who lost shelter during the demolition drive carried out at the government land in Kogilu Layout in Bengaluru.
Addressing a joint press conference, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with State Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, made the announcement in Bengaluru after holding a high-level meeting in this regard.
"Though the people were living in illegally constructed houses, alternative housing is being provided on humanitarian grounds," the Karnataka government said.
The Chief Minister said that the state government has constructed one lakh houses precisely with the objective of providing shelter to the poor.
CM Siddaramaiah also added, "New houses will be provided to those who lost sheds on January 1, New Year's Day. The decision has been taken to provide alternative houses within a 7-km radius of Kogilu."
He also warned that strict action will be initiated against the State Revenue Department and civic body officials if government land is illegally encroached upon in future.
Siddaramaiah said that the decision was made after discussions with Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar, Housing Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan, Revenue Minister and local MLA Krishna Byregowda regarding alternative arrangements, it was decided to allot houses at Baiyappanahalli.
"At Baiyappanahalli, in Survey No. 23, there are about 1,087 houses. After receiving the verified list from officials, houses will be allotted to the beneficiaries in the multi-storey buildings there. Baiyappanahalli is only about seven km from Kogilu," the Chief Minister added.
"Each house has been constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 11.20 lakh. Subsidies from the state and Central governments are available for general category beneficiaries as well as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes," he said.
"In addition, he has instructed that Rs 5 lakh per house be provided by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). For general category beneficiaries, the total subsidy comes to Rs 8.70 lakh, while for SC/ST beneficiaries it comes to Rs 9.50 lakh. The remaining amount will be provided as a loan -- Rs 2.5 lakh for general category beneficiaries and Rs 1.70 lakh for SC/ST beneficiaries. Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan has agreed to facilitate the loans after verification," the Chief Minister added.
"Verification will be carried out over the next two days. The responsibility of ensuring that houses are provided for occupation on January 1, marking the beginning of the New Year, has been entrusted to Housing Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan," he said.
The Chief Minister clarified that providing government-built houses to those who had illegally constructed and occupied sheds will apply only to this particular case.
He has once again instructed that stringent action be taken against officials who allowed illegal construction of sheds.
He warned that if such illegalities occur in the future, the concerned officials will be held responsible.
Siddaramaiah said that around 167 sheds that had been illegally constructed on government land at Kogilu Layout were cleared on December 20.
"Notices had been issued to all the occupants, informing them that the land belonged to the state government and directing them to vacate. However, they failed to do so."
"On Monday, I deputed Housing Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan and his political secretary Naseer Ahmed to visit the spot. On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar also visited the area along with officials," Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister added: "The Deputy Commissioner had handed over 15 acres of land to the city corporation for the purpose of garbage disposal. A stone quarry is also located there. The land is in the possession of the corporation, which has been dumping waste there."
"It has come to light that people had been illegally constructing sheds and living there since around 2020–21. Therefore, he has directed that action be initiated against officials of the Revenue Department and the civic body. Such encroachments cannot happen without the knowledge of the tahsildar and revenue inspectors. To prevent recurrence of such incidents, strict action will be taken against those responsible," he warned.
He said he has issued clear instructions to all concerned officials to ensure that government land is not encroached upon under any circumstances in the future.
"If houses are constructed illegally, the concerned officials themselves will be held accountable. The Deputy Commissioner and civic body officials have been instructed to identify eligible persons among those who were living in the illegally constructed sheds and submit a list within the next two days."
"The government has decided, on humanitarian grounds, to make alternative arrangements for eligible affected persons," the Chief Minister added.
Siddaramaiah said that Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal discussed the matter with him in Delhi and later with Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar.
He assured Congress leaders Venugopal and Shivakumar that alternative arrangements would be made.
He had instructed the Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department to arrange food, accommodation and temporary shelters.
"Though such arrangements were made at three places, the residents did not shift there."
Siddaramaiah said the issue was being politicised.
He alleged that the Communist Party and the Kerala Chief Minister had turned it into a political issue ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections likely to held in March or April 2026.
"On humanitarian grounds, we are making arrangements for their stay. We do not allow anyone to construct houses illegally," Siddaramaiah said.
He also added that he was unaware of the Kerala government's interest in the issue and asked questions to be directed to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
"They are making it political. Our intention is only to prevent illegalities," he said.
--IANS
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