Obstacle for Acquiring palace ground removed

Bengaluru: The widening of the Bellary road, which has been stalled for more than a decade and a half, has finally got approval. Due to this, technically, the obstacle to acquiring the palace grounds for road widening has been removed, and subject to the interim order of the Supreme Court, the government has decided to use 15 acres and 17 guntas of land belonging to the palace for the widening work. Apart from that, instead of possession, it has been decided to give TDR to any of the real heirs of that land.

Due to this, the vehicles plying on the surrounding area who are harassed by daily traffic can breathe a sigh of relief. The palace space will be used for the widening of Bellary Road and Jayamahal Road, which connect to the International Airport.

A division bench of the Karnataka High Court headed by CJ NV Anjaria and Justice KV Arvind disposed of the petition filed by the Rajajinagar dedicated cultural and social organization seeking appropriate direction to the government for the widening of Bellary Road.

On behalf of the government, Additional Advocate General Pratima Honnapura submitted to the court the order issued by the government regarding the use of 15.17 acres of land belonging to the palace for road widening as per the interim order of the Supreme Court. The court which registered it disposed of the PIL. However, the copy of the court order is yet to come.Many judges who travel from the judicial layout to the High Court every day are suffering from the heat of traffic on the same Bellary road. It may be recalled here that the judges of the High Court have protested many times against the government’s action for delaying the widening of Bellary Road, which has the highest vehicular traffic in the city.

In the meantime, “some time should be given to give details about the progress of the project. The manner in which TDR should be given and the manner in which the road widening work should be carried out is being examined. No decision has been taken yet,” said the government lawyer.

Then the judges took a dig and said, “This is a meeting after the Supreme Court order and nothing has been decided? How much more time is needed, how can there be a delay like this? You don’t seem to take seriously the fact that motorists are suffering on that road every day.” According to the order given by the Supreme Court in 2014, the road widening work should be carried out and the order should be followed. An action plan should be submitted in this regard by the next hearing. Otherwise, the court itself will issue an order,” it warned.

The lawyer for the petitioner, GR Mohan, said, “Though the Supreme Court has given a clear order regarding TDR, the government and BBMP are not considering it. It is just being delayed. It is affecting the people every day. Therefore, the order given by the Supreme Court in 2014 should be implemented.”

In 2014, the Supreme Court had given permission to the government and BBMP to widen the road and give TDR for the palace land used for it. However, the question of who is the owner of that land is pending before the Supreme Court, and the government is claiming that the land belongs to the royal family of Mysore. So, after ten years of confusion as to who should be given TDR, BBMP has finally taken a decision after consultation at the government level. That is, the BBMP has decided to get the land related documents from both the government and the royal family and distribute the TDR to the person in whose name the document is currently.