K’taka govt allots homes to families affected by Kogilu bulldozing

The Karnataka government on Monday announced that families displaced during the so-called anti-encroachment drive in Kogilu village on Bengaluru’s outskirts would be provided alternative housing, even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar firmly justified the demolitions, asserting that the structures were illegal and stood on government land.

Siddaramaiah said the sheds demolished on December 20 were removed only after due notice and that the land officially belonged to the government and had been earmarked for public purposes. He stressed that encroachments on such land would not be permitted under any circumstances.

At the same time, the Chief Minister acknowledged that illegal settlements could not have emerged without the awareness or complicity of local revenue and civic officials. He said he had directed strict action against the concerned tahsildars, shirastedars and BBMP officials, and warned that any future encroachment on government land would make officials directly accountable.

Referring to humanitarian concerns, Siddaramaiah said he had instructed authorities to identify families who had lost their homes and were eligible for rehabilitation, and to submit a list within two days. After consultations with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Housing Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan and the local MLA, the government decided to allot alternative housing at Baiyappanahalli, about seven kilometres from Kogilu, Maktoob Media reported.

He said around 1,087 government-constructed houses were available at the Baiyappanahalli site, with each unit costing roughly ₹11.20 lakh. Under the scheme, beneficiaries from the general category would receive subsidies of up to ₹8.70 lakh, while those from SC/ST communities would receive up to ₹9.50 lakh, with the remaining amount to be covered through a small, verified loan.

Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan was tasked with completing the verification process and ensuring that eligible families could move into the houses from January 1. Siddaramaiah reiterated that while the government had built one lakh houses to provide shelter and dignity to the poor, it would not tolerate encroachment on public land, and officials facilitating such acts would face serious consequences.

The announcement came on the same day DK Shivakumar visited Fakir Colony in Kogilu on December 29, days after hundreds of houses were razed in the drive. During the visit, residents told him that they had lived in the area for decades, and many of the affected families belonged to the Muslim community.

Shivakumar said the land had been notified by the government around nine or ten years ago for a solid waste management facility and posed potential health risks. He stated that notices had been issued several times before the demolition and maintained that the action was necessary to reclaim public land from encroachers and land mafias. He also asserted that the drive was not directed at any particular community.

He added that the Chief Minister had already held meetings to discuss compensation and rehabilitation for eligible beneficiaries and assured that no eligible poor family would face injustice. Shivakumar further said that stringent legal action would be taken against those who had illegally sold or allotted government land.

Responding to criticism, Shivakumar accused Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of making political statements without full knowledge of the facts and of interfering in Karnataka’s internal matters. Vijayan had earlier condemned the demolitions in Fakir Colony and Waseem Layout, alleging that Muslim families who had lived there for years were uprooted and describing the action as a brutal normalisation of “bulldozer raj.” He had claimed that anti-minority politics was being pursued under a Congress government and had appealed to secular and democratic forces to oppose such actions.

The government’s defence and rehabilitation plan follows the demolition drive carried out in the early hours of December 20 in Fakir Colony and Waseem Layout near Yelahanka. As earlier reported by Maktoob, officials of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, supported by heavy police deployment, began the operation around 4 am, using multiple earthmovers and stationing nearly 150 police personnel at the site.

Residents told Maktoob that they had lived in the area for 20 to 30 years, possessed documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID, PAN and ration cards, and had regularly participated in elections. Many claimed they were never served any notice before the demolition.

Families, including elderly people and children, said they were left without food, water or shelter, and alleged that they were not allowed to remove their belongings before the bulldozers arrived, resulting in household items being crushed. Some residents also said electricity and internet services had been cut a day earlier.

Officials, however, maintained that the houses were constructed without permission on government land near a pond adjacent to an Urdu Government School, and alleged that several residents had migrated from outside Karnataka. The residents rejected these claims, insisting that they had spent their entire lives in Kogilu over several decades.