Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday that his Government would act against officials who allowed the illegal construction of sheds at Kogilu near Yelahanka in Bengaluru, where a recent eviction drive drew criticism from his Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan. He also said that eligible people among the evictees would get houses built under the CM One Lakh Housing Scheme.
Addressing a news conference following a review meeting with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Siddaramaiah said that 167 sheds constructed since 2021 had been cleared after the occupants were served multiple notices. “Such illegal construction is not possible without the knowledge of the tahsildar and other revenue officials,” the chief minister said, adding that action would be initiated against those responsible.
Siddaramaiah said the deputy commissioner and the commissioner of the Bengaluru North corporation would compile a list of eligible beneficiaries–evictees who do not own other houses or land–based on which alternative arrangements would be made for them on humanitarian grounds.
“The communist party (CPM) has made it a political issue, unnecessarily. None other than the CM of Kerala made it an issue, because the Assembly elections are coming in the month of March or April (in Kerala),” Siddaramaiah said, contending that the ruling Congress had countered the attack by providing alternative arrangements for the evictees.
Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru development minister, said the Government had information about certain people who allowed the construction of the illegal sheds after taking money from the occupants.
“We will identify and initiate legal action against them,” he said, adding that land documents of the property meant for solid waste management were altered.