BENGALURU: Over 300 plot owners in Banashankari 6th Stage are struggling to construct their homes due to objections from the Forest Department regarding buffer zone regulations around the adjacent Turahalli Forest. To address this ongoing issue, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has reached out to the Forest Department for a permanent resolution. This predicament concerns plots allocated by the BDA in various Blocks of the Banashankari 6th Stage layout several years ago.
Despite the BDA distributing residential sites decades ago, the Forest Department later declared that numerous plots across various survey numbers fall within the buffer zone of the Turahalli forest area, leading to denied construction permissions on many sites. This has left hundreds of plot owners distressed for an extended period.
Officials report that the BDA sent a letter to the Forest Department last week, seeking discussions to clarify the buffer zone restrictions.
Affected site owners have voiced their concerns in BDA meetings, stressing that they face financial hardship as they cannot make use of their legally allotted plots. Many of them financed the purchase through loans and are now struggling to pay off installments while unable to build on their land.
The Banashankari 6th Stage layout was developed over approximately 1,598 acres and 2 guntas, spanning different survey numbers in Turahalli, Hemmigepura, Lingadheeranahalli, Sompura, and BM Kaval villages in Kengeri Hobli of Bengaluru South Taluk. The BDA issued a preliminary land acquisition notification in 2000, followed by a final notification in 2001, resulting in the formation and allocation of nearly 20,000 residential plots of varying sizes.
However, recent drone surveys conducted in conjunction with the BDA and Forest Department designated several sites as falling within the required 100-meter buffer zone surrounding the forest, with official records indicating that 329 residential sites and adjacent roadway portions, totaling nearly 19 acres and 18 guntas, currently fall under this category.
A senior BDA official stated that the authority has contacted the Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru Circle, requesting a joint meeting with senior Forest Department officials to discuss a long-term resolution for the impacted site owners. Initial surveys suggested nearly 1,300 sites fell within buffer zone limits, but after reevaluation, officials have cleared all but 329 sites, which remain contentious due to their proximity to the forest boundary.
