At Kempegowda Layout, A Sense Of Betrayal Evident Among Site Allottees, ET RealEstate
BENGALURU: Dreams are on hold, homes remain unbuilt, and hope is fading at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout (NKPL). Take Jagadish, 70, for instance. The septuagenarian pedals 3km each evening, not for leisure, but for essentials such as water and milk.
His dream of a beautiful home at NKPL has turned into a daily struggle. NKPL, long in the spotlight for missed deadlines, has left around 10,000 hopeful homeowners in a limbo. Retirees, life savings investors, and loan-burdened citizens feel betrayed by the broken promises of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).
Only two houses stand in the vast layout, while tens are coming up slowly only to dodge rising interest rates.. TOI uncovered their stories. The emotions are palpable.
Jagadish, a lifelong renter, now resides in a house without basic infrastructure. Darkness cloaks the layout and fear of robbery locks his doors at night. “I did a lot of odd jobs like driving and catering. I’m 70 now and the worst decision I made was to trust the BDA and get a plot here. Despite the lack of infrastructure, I built my house and moved here with my wife. We got a temporary electricity connection recently, but I have to go to Bettanapalya to fetch drinking water. The layout doesn’t have any streetlight and I don’t open my doors after it’s dark,” he said.
Nagarajaiah’s 20-year wait for a BDA allotment led to the bitter reality of a hastily built home — his investment now seems futile as he’s back to staying on rent, living on his pension. “…When I moved here with my family, the temporary electricity was removed after four months. With no other option, I moved back to a rented home. It’s so disheartening,” he said.
Baskar Naidu, who had secured a BDA site on his seventh attempt, had bet on the BDA’s integrity and borrowed from a bank. He built his house seven years later to escape rental and loan burdens. “I feel betrayed.”
The petitions committee of the state assembly has given BDA a final 12-month ultimatum to complete the NKPL project. Time is running out, but for these homeowners, the wait has already been too long.
