BDA official suspended for allotting sites sans approval

[smohankumar7]

It seems a few officers of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) are in a terrible hurry to allot alternative sites to site-owners who have lost their land, without receiving applications from the latter.
It is said Sateesh Babu, Deputy Secretary-4 of BDA has collected betterment charges from 35 people and registered those sites without permission from higher authorities. Babu is also said to have made crores of rupees by registering 35 sites between March 18 and 29 without submitting the file even to the Secretary.
Babu registered the sites after collecting betterment tax at the rate of Rs 59 per sq ft which had been approved by the Board on December 20, 2011.
“The BDA has sent a proposal to the government seeking its nod for fixing the betterment tax at Rs 336 per sq ft but he collected the old rate that was fixed more than eight years ago,’’ says a BDA official on a condition of anonymity.
According to BDA sources, any revenue site holder losing his revenue site for Arkavathy Layout is entitled to only a site of 30x40 dimension subject to recovery of the cost of the site as per the proposition spelt out in WP Nos. 42483-42517 of 2002 and writ petition No. 2624-2625/2005.
“However, no alternative site for revenue site can be allotted in Arkavathy Layout, as the process for allotment of alternatives sites has not been initiated so far,’’ says a BDA office memorandum.

It says that sites purchased by the members of Trinity Village Plot Owners Association were revenue sites and their claims for alternative sites are to be dealt with as per the judgement sin WP Nos 42483-42517 of 2002 and writ petition No. 2624-2625/2005 only after the process for allotment of alternative sites is completed with the approval from the government.
“Thus, the claims of 66 members of Trinity Village Plot Owners Association either for regularization of their revenue sites or for allotment of alternative sites are not tenable and need to be rejected,’’ the office memorandum said.


“It is recommended to take disciplinary action against Deputy Secretary-4 Sateesh Babu,’’ says BBMP Commissioner in a letter to Principal Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms.
Meanwhile, some social activists want the government to handover the case to the ACB.


“I want the government to initiate criminal proceedings against the accused for incurring a huge loss to the BDA by registering sites without taking permission from higher authorities,’’ says Sai Datta, a social activist.

Block 1 sector H as per pic in link

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