PROBLEM CONTINUE WITH ARKAVATHY LAYOUT
Posted: May 15th, 2009, 11:57 am
TOI 15TH MAY 2009
They own plots but cannot build a house on it
They put down their life’s savings for a plot of land but are now paying a heavy price for it. It’s been a long wait to own their little pieces in the hype-cloaked Arkavathy Layout. And it seems to be an endless one.
H G Prakash, 76, an ex-serviceman and son of a freedom fighter from Subramanyanagar, made at least four attempts for a 30 ft x 40 ft plot there. His first attempt under the ex-serviceman quota was not even considered. He finally succeeded in getting a plot allotted and it took him another two years to register it, after countless visits to the BDA office. His struggle still continues, and as time goes by, his hopes of building a house are slowly fading. He paid Rs 2.3 lakh for it and Rs 2,000 more for the little piece of additional land around it. Little did he realize the long struggle ahead until he submitted his building plan for approval on October 10, 2008. He still can’t do anything with the land because of the reserved Supreme Court judgment.
“I hope my wait ends before I die. I was ready to live there even in a tent, but in vain. There’s a lot of talk about farmers there threatening to commit suicide. What about us who paid a big price for it? Luckily, I didn’t avail of a loan. A banker advised me not to, considering the risk with BDA sites. My son paid it for me and that makes it even harder for me,†he says.
He’s not the only one. Land allotted, building plan sanctioned but no construction on the plot yet: there are nearly 8,800 such people who own land but can’t build houses on it. Some are paying a steep interest on money borrowed from banks and other financial institutions. The BDA scaled down the allotment from the initial 20,000 sites to 8,800, but the disturbing wait continues for allottees. “Our money is locked. My father availed of a loan for the plot and with no progress on the layout, what are we to tell the bank?,’’ says Sanjay.
Incidentally, the waiting inspired them to form an association with more than 200 allottee-members till date. “There should be some way out of this,’’ says Shivaprakash, another allottee.
San
They own plots but cannot build a house on it
They put down their life’s savings for a plot of land but are now paying a heavy price for it. It’s been a long wait to own their little pieces in the hype-cloaked Arkavathy Layout. And it seems to be an endless one.
H G Prakash, 76, an ex-serviceman and son of a freedom fighter from Subramanyanagar, made at least four attempts for a 30 ft x 40 ft plot there. His first attempt under the ex-serviceman quota was not even considered. He finally succeeded in getting a plot allotted and it took him another two years to register it, after countless visits to the BDA office. His struggle still continues, and as time goes by, his hopes of building a house are slowly fading. He paid Rs 2.3 lakh for it and Rs 2,000 more for the little piece of additional land around it. Little did he realize the long struggle ahead until he submitted his building plan for approval on October 10, 2008. He still can’t do anything with the land because of the reserved Supreme Court judgment.
“I hope my wait ends before I die. I was ready to live there even in a tent, but in vain. There’s a lot of talk about farmers there threatening to commit suicide. What about us who paid a big price for it? Luckily, I didn’t avail of a loan. A banker advised me not to, considering the risk with BDA sites. My son paid it for me and that makes it even harder for me,†he says.
He’s not the only one. Land allotted, building plan sanctioned but no construction on the plot yet: there are nearly 8,800 such people who own land but can’t build houses on it. Some are paying a steep interest on money borrowed from banks and other financial institutions. The BDA scaled down the allotment from the initial 20,000 sites to 8,800, but the disturbing wait continues for allottees. “Our money is locked. My father availed of a loan for the plot and with no progress on the layout, what are we to tell the bank?,’’ says Sanjay.
Incidentally, the waiting inspired them to form an association with more than 200 allottee-members till date. “There should be some way out of this,’’ says Shivaprakash, another allottee.
San