One hundred and one families living in shanties at Lakkasandra slum will be rehabilitated at Kudlu as the government land they are currently occupying will be used for the Namma Metro project.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) will spend ₹4.5 lakh per family to provide housing to those displaced. Another ₹1.5 lakh will be provided under existing housing schemes by the government.
Earlier this year, some of the residents had claimed that 120 families currently live in the slum, but the survey team has said that 101 households are eligible for rehabilitation.
Most of the families living in the shanties hail from north Karnataka. For over a year, the BMRCL has been making attempts to acquire around five acres of government land at Lakkasandra where people have built makeshift structures. The land is required for the Namma Metro underground project, and will be used for a casting yard.
“Earlier, the Bengaluru Urban district authority and Karnataka Slum Development Board had proposed to provide rehabilitation at Kurubarahalli in Tavarekere hobli on Magadi Road. But families already residing in Kurubarahalli, where housing facilities have been provided by the Board, raised objections,” said a BMRCL official.
This development forced the metro rail corporation to explore other options. “Now, the Slum Board has identified a place at Kudlu on Hosur Road. BMRCL has agreed to provide the required funds for housing,” said the official. He added that affected families will also get an allowance to shift their possessions.
This is not the first time that BMRCL has stepped in to provide housing for displaced families. However, officials say the current rehabilitation project for families in Lakkasandra is one of the bigger undertakings for Phase II of Namma Metro. “The land will be used for temporary purposes,” the official added.
Under Phase II, the BMRCL is building a tunnel network from Dairy Circle to Nagawara. At Cantonment and Shivajinagar stations, it has deployed four tunnel boring machines out of which three have commissioned tunnel works. Officials claim that a majority of the land required for the project is already in possession of BMRCL.