A day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that those who have become homeless following the demolition drive in Kogilu Layout will be allotted alternative flats nearby, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed the move and demanded that the allotment be put on hold till the antecedents of those in that Layout are probed.
BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra, speaking in Belagavi, said the party will take to the streets over the issue, and the modalities of the protest will be decided at the party’s core committee meeting on January 5.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok termed the Chief Minister’s decision “a bad precedent being set” where encroachers and land mafia were being rewarded with flats meant for the poor. He alleged that those whose houses were demolished were squatters since a few months and that a local Congress leader Waseem, had taken money from them and got them houses.
Hitting back, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar said there was no question of “gifting anything to encroachers”. “The evictees have given statements that some people collected money and allowed them to set up their sheds there. We will take action against those who facilitated the encroachment. We will give housing through Pradhan Mantri Awas Scheme to the eligible evictees on humanitarian ground.”
Officials from the Karnataka Housing Department visited Fakir Colony and Waseem Colony in Kogilu and began a survey of the residents. They were seen collecting copies of documents, both personal IDs, utility bills, and other documents, residents have, on Tuesday.
“What about other homeless people?”
Mr. Ashok said if the government were to allot alternative flats to encroachers in this case, then those affected by around 40 such drives that were carried out earlier in Bengaluru City alone must be allotted alternate sites. He said as per government data tabled in the recently concluded legislature session, a total of 37.48 lakh are either plotless or homeless in the State, and in Bengaluru Urban district alone, 98,487 were homeless.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council on Tuesday wrote to the Chief Minister and others in the government, appealing to build low-cost apartments and allot them to migrant labourers from North Karnataka working in the city.
“Can’t afford to pay for new flats”
Meanwhile, residents who lost houses in Fakir Colony and Waseem Colony, Kogilu, are stranded. Many are living in their relatives’ houses or in the open, putting up tents. Sami Ahmed, 57, an auto driver who lost his house in the demolition drive, said his family shifted from Goripalya to here in 2001 and has IDs showing this address dating back to at least 2008, countering claims that they are recent settlers.
The State government has now promised alternate flats to them in Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Ltd.’s apartment complex in Baiyyappanahalli, Byatarayanapura, seven km from the Kogilu Layout. “Now they are saying the flats will be allotted at highly subsidised rates, but we should pay ₹2.5 lakh. I don’t think any family here can afford to pay that much. Many here sustain themselves by begging and doing menial jobs,” he said.
Published – December 30, 2025 09:07 pm IST
