Bengaluru | Karnataka Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh on Thursday said only 90 families who were evicted from Faqir colony in Kogilu layout here are eligible for compensatory housing, dismissing claims that 400 would be accommodated.
Addressing media, he said, “Officials of our department as well as the Social Welfare Department visited the place and surveyed it. Only 90 people are local residents. Only those who belong to the city and those who are actually the beneficiaries will be given houses."
Meanwhile, the BJP warned of protests on January 5 in Bengaluru if what it termed as "illegal allotment" of houses went ahead.
According to Yelahanka BJP MLA S R Vishwanath, several people who deposited Rs one lakh a year ago have not been allotted houses yet as the construction work remained incomplete.
He added that the rules stipulate that the beneficiaries should have a maximum annual income of Rs three lakh.
Beneficiaries under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana must have resided in Bengaluru for at least five years and possess a domicile certificate attested by revenue officials, Vishwanath said at a press conference.
According to him, the revenue officials have not issued any domicile certificate to anyone in Faqir Layout. The entire amount must be deposited before complete possession is handed over.
Alleging irregularities, Vishwanath said people who applied six years ago were still waiting, while those who applied a week ago were being considered. "If this allotment happens, then this will be entirely an illegal allotment,” Vishwanath said.
He warned that the BJP would challenge the allotment in the court of law and also raise the issue before the Governor.
“We will do whatever is needed to check this illegality. We are going to stage a demonstration on January 5 at the Freedom Park,” he added.
Yeshwanthpur MLA S T Somashekar, who has been expelled from the BJP apparently for his proximity with the Congress leaders, also objected to the Congress government’s decision.
“Why is the government giving alternative houses to those from Kogilu Layout? There are many people in Bengaluru who need houses. I spoke to Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath. He said the beneficiaries elsewhere are asked to bear a cost of Rs 10.5 lakh whereas those from Kogilu cross have been asked to pay only Rs 2.5 lakh. Why are they special?” Somashekar asked.
Stressing that rules should not be bent to benefit a few, he said, “If concessions are extended to Kogilu Layout residents, then the same should be applicable to others. Extend the same benefit to everyone who are eligible for 50,000 houses, constructed by the state government.”
Somashekar claimed that Kogilu Layout residents were getting houses for Rs 2.5 lakh, with the Municipal Corporation bearing Rs five lakh and the Minority Welfare Board contributing Rs 2.5 lakh.
“All these concession are illegal, according to me,” he charged.
He urged the Congress government not to discriminate against anyone. “You have to see the entire Bengaluru as one unit. If you address the problems of the Kogilu Layout residents and not others, then we will not tolerate it,” the MLA told reporters.
Responding to the controversy, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said attempts were being made to disturb peace.
“Many people hatch conspiracies to create internal problems. Our Home Minister and the Police Department are ensuring that there is peace,” he told reporters.
Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said he does not limit his response to state boundaries when issues such as the recent demolitions of houses in Bengaluru arise.
Speaking at a press conference, Vijayan was asked whether he raised concerns over the demolitions during his meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Sivagiri Math.
He said the Congress leader arrived late, and he had to leave early with permission to attend a Cabinet meeting.
He added that before the Cabinet meeting, he had visited actor Mohanlal following the death of his mother and later travelled to Dharmadom in Kannur after the demise of a party leader.
Responding to remarks by Karnataka leaders asking him not to interfere in the demolition issue, Vijayan said he does not confine his responses to state boundaries when issues such as demolitions or minority rights arise.
"We respond strongly in such matters, even when similar issues arise in other countries, such as in Gaza," he said.
He said it was natural to react when helpless people are rendered homeless by bulldozers.
Last month, Vijayan, in a Facebook post, had said that the demolition of houses in Bengaluru reflected a form of minority-targeting politics previously seen in North India and warned that such practices were spreading to the South.
He expressed surprise that what he described as "bulldozer justice" was carried out under a Congress-led government in Karnataka.
Responding to Vijayan’s remarks, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had said it was unfortunate that senior leaders like the Kerala CM commented on the matter without knowing the facts and advised him not to interfere in Karnataka’s affairs in connection with the anti-encroachment drive in north Bengaluru.
Later, CPI(M) leaders from Kerala visited Bengaluru and met people who were evicted as part of the drive.