Karnataka High Court has directed the civic body, now known as Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), to issue Transferable Development Rights (TDR) certificates within three months to landowners whose property was taken and used for road formation more than a decade ago. Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order on a petition filed by landowners whose nearly two acres in Hoskerehalli village, Uttarahalli hobli, Bengaluru South taluk, were notified for acquisition on January 6, 2012.
Landowners Executed Relinquishment Deeds in 2012
The petitioners executed relinquishment deeds on April 3, 2012, following which the land was used by BBMP for road development. The court expressed strong displeasure over the delay in granting compensation. “Today a citizen is stripped of his lands and has been waiting for 14 long years without compensation or TDR,” Justice Nagaprasanna observed, noting that the acquisition notification itself promised TDR once relinquishment deeds were executed.
Petitioners Claim Entitlement to 1.5 Times TDR
The petitioners argued that they were entitled to TDR equivalent to 1.5 times the extent of land surrendered. They contended that the relinquishment deeds were binding on BBMP as they were signed by the additional commissioner on behalf of the commissioner. BBMP opposed the claim, arguing that the land was never formally acquired and alleging that certain officials had colluded with the petitioners to create TDR. It contended that the relinquishment deeds were wrongly executed and therefore could not be acted upon.
Court Rejects BBMP's Defence as Preposterous
Rejecting the defence, the court noted that the relinquishment deeds were registered documents signed by BBMP’s authorised officer. “After years of execution of relinquishment deeds, BBMP puts up a defence ... that it was an error of execution by its officers and therefore, the deeds are not to be acted upon. The said submission, to say the least, is preposterous,” the judge said.
The court pointed out that the civic body had never sought cancellation of the relinquishment deeds. “It would have been an altogether different circumstance if the relinquishment deeds had been sought to be cancelled by the BBMP at any time till today. Till date, the relinquishment deeds stand intact. Not a piece of paper is produced before the court” to show they were wrongly executed, the order noted.
BBMP's Fraud Claim Questioned by Court
Justice Nagaprasanna also questioned BBMP’s claim of fraud, observing that it had failed to explain what action was taken against senior officials involved in the process. Suspending an executive engineer without further action, the court remarked, “It speaks volumes of the eye-wash action taken by BBMP.”
The judge observed that if the government genuinely believed the deeds were fraudulent, action should have been initiated against all responsible officers long ago. “When nothing is done, a humble citizen is put to jeopardy,” the court said.
Court Allows Petition, Directs GBA to Issue TDR
Holding that landowners could not be made to suffer for alleged lapses by civic officials, the court allowed the petition and directed GBA to issue the TDR certificates within three months.
