How many families were affected by the Kogilu demolition? Surveys differ

While families claiming to person lived in Kogilu Layout for years without homes, 9 days aft the demolition, they present find themselves caught betwixt conflicting surveys conducted by aggregate agencies and organisations.

An autarkic survey conducted by an NGO, which has worked with residents successful the country for respective years, identified nearly 170 families residing in Fakeer Colony and Waseem Layout earlier the demolitions connected December 20. The survey recorded 167 demolished houses- 47 successful Fakeer Colony, 38 successful Fakeer Colony (New), and 82 successful Waseem Layout, affecting 192 heads of families.

On the different hand, officials of the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Limited, who visited the tract connected December 28, conducted their survey and placed the fig of affected families astatine adjacent to 200.

However, The Hindu has learnt that yet different abstracted list submitted to the authorities agencies by “slum leaders” claiming to represent the settlements projected the fig of eligible families astatine implicit 350. Sources said officials raised concerns implicit discrepancies successful figures, but this database has not been taken connected record.

Payments to leaders

The residents also acknowledged that respective families had paid astir ₹2 lakh implicit the years to section intermediaries to unafraid plots and basic services and said they were aboriginal warned not to talk astir these payments aft the demolition.

“We paid ₹2.08 lakh to 1 idiosyncratic here. He arranged the energy metre container and told america everything was legal. Since 2012, we person been staying here. After the demolition, helium threatened america and said we should not uncover thing due to the fact that we are not literate. Now we person mislaid everything, and we don’t even cognize if our names are included successful immoderate survey,” a nonmigratory said. Many families besides said documents required to establish eligibility were destroyed during the demolition.

Dy CM sojourn

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who visited the demolition tract aft 9 days, said the authorities was identifying mediocre and deserving families affected by the clearance. “Some radical person taken ₹1 lakh, adjacent ₹2 lakh, from families and allowed them to illegally physique huts connected authorities land. We volition not let abrupt slum instauration successful Bengaluru,” helium said.

When asked who had collected wealth from residents, Mr. Shivakumar said, “Our probe squad volition verify this,” helium said. He added that the authorities had documents showing agreements for the operation connected the authorities onshore and said enactment would beryllium taken against those responsible.

Who is accountable?

The displaced families, however, questioned wherefore specified transactions spanning respective years were not acted upon earlier, and however accountability would present beryllium fixed erstwhile families who paid intermediaries person mislaid some homes and documents. They besides said verification based largely on Aadhaar details could exclude families whose papers were destroyed during the demolition.

Responding to concerns raised by the residents that galore had mislaid cardinal documents, which are chiefly utilized for verification, a elder authoritative the lodging corp said alternate documents, including EPIC cards and ration cards, would beryllium considered, and verification would beryllium carried retired accordingly.

Joint survey contiguous

A elder authoritative besides acknowledged that the survey conducted by the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Committee showed figures that differed from those arrived astatine by the GBA and the Revenue Department and said that the officials from each 3 departments volition jointly transportation retired a caller survey connected Tuesday to get astatine a last count.