The cosy little town of Belagavi is currently a buzz with destruction on many roads and all is being done for Development.
Road widening projects being under taken at Kahanpur road, Menshi Galli, Patil Galli, Kalmath Road, Raviwar peth, and Fort road. Ramling Khind Galli and Ramdev Galli are on the radar from Monday.
And how is the development work informed to the public by an Engineer who ORALLY just threatens “Remove your building or else we will demolish it”.
The commissioner of the city corporation calls anyone who has property adjoining the road as an “encroacher” in-spite of the City survey records speaking volumes about our title and the existing road, he believes that once the CDP is published and if it is a private property is to be converted for use into a public one, the private party immediately becomes public and the subject for the taking over by the public authorities.
The commissioner of the City Corporation then suddenly sends his officers to mark a portion with red paint for demolition. The officers mark the property and next follow it with buldozers, JCB to raze the property to ground.
No one is against development but why this incorrect way?
There is a provision under law and law says the person who has to surrender the land for the public purpose does not matter even if it is a CDP road or garden or land required for road widening has to be compensated.
Since the local authorities will not have sufficient funds and the development is essential in these cases the person who handovers the land can be compensated by benefit of development rights under section 14 b of Karnataka town and county planning act.
Each one is for development but the same must be done after consultation with the aggrieved parties and after payment of proper compensation.
But in Belagavi is there a Law of the Land? Even when residents have an interim stay from the High court in which the residents have pleaded the same “We are not against development, but do the same as per set law and procedures and after paying compensation.”
I have seen two sets of peoples fighting it out on this issue of need for development but at a cost to a single person.
If the said land is needed for a public use the same must be acquired by the Govt according to due process of law.
The same was done in Vijapura. “We have decided to give seven days time to land owners to reply to the notice. Later, we will deposit the compensation amount in their bank accounts, and demolition would be started for the project,” said the Deputy Commissioner, Vijapura D. Randeep (September 17, 2014) .
But same system is not followed in Belagavi Why? I am Belagavi aka Belgaum, erstwhile Venugram and they say tolerance is in my blood.