By Shreyas H.S.
About 1,110 Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and pourakarmika families have been putting up a fight for the past 11 years for allocation of houses granted to them under the Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub Plan (SCP/TSP) by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The BBMP rolled out this scheme in 2008. In 2013, 1,110 families were identified as beneficiaries based on stipulated criterion. In 2015, two land parcels were identified. The land is currently in possession of the civic body.
Deputy CM’s direction
However, despite Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar directing the officials concerned on February 23 this year to grant sanction to start development works to build the houses, no action has been initiated. The civic body has been waiting for clearance from the Urban Development Department (UDD) for the same.
For the scheme to even reach this level, the beneficiaries had to run from pillar to post pursuing officials, ministers and political leaders. The scheme also faced hurdles when a few farmers moved the Karnataka High Court to return the land. In 2016, the High Court rejected the writ petition.
This story was originally published in thehindu.com. Read the full story here.