Key Takeaways
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) developed the Banashankari 6th Stage layout in south Bengaluru two decades ago, allotting sites to buyers who received valid documents. Recently, forest officials claimed parts fall under a buffer zone, stopping all construction and sales despite no prior objections. Affected families, many living on or planning to build on these plots, express frustration over lost investments worth crores today.
This crisis echoes earlier High Court rulings quashing BDA acquisitions for lapses, like in a related 2025 case involving 300 families where original landowners won due to procedural delays. BDA's failure to secure land promptly has repeatedly exposed buyers to risks in urban expansion projects mpacts on Families
Site owners report paying property taxes regularly for over a decade without issues until now. One buyer who purchased in 2004 for Rs 10 lakh laments the lost opportunity cost, now valued at Rs 6 crore elsewhere. Construction halts have blocked homebuilding and transactions, stranding families in legal and financial limbo.
The forest buffer rule, meant for conservation, appears misapplied to pre-existing urban layouts, per resident claims. BDA has forwarded the matter to Karnataka's state government, but no quick fix is in sight.
Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/buffer-zone-dispute-leaves-bangalore-development-authority-site-owners-in-limbo/articleshow/125988170.cms
In Conclusion
This Bengaluru land dispute underscores vulnerabilities in BDA projects, urging faster government intervention to protect bona fide buyers from forest claims on developed sites. Resolution could prevent broader erosion of trust in public housing layouts.