Karnataka - Bangalore   

‘Governor has no powers to modify Sakrama’

BANGALORE: For people who were hoping that the Governor could come to their aid by modifying the Sakrama scheme, here’s a dampener. “The only relief that is possible is from the court in the form of a stay order. Since the Act has been in force from the time it was notified, he cannot overrule a legislative action,” the former Law Secretary, Ishwar Bhat, said here on Saturday.

To accede to the demands made by various sections of the public, including the extension of last date, the Governor would have to repeal the Act, which is not in his power, according to Mr. Bhat.

Speaking at a public discussion on Sakrama scheme, Mr. Bhat said that the regularisation scheme has become “a graveyard for town planning” as it throws all aspects of planning to the winds.

Terming it ambiguous, he said, “The regularisation Act says that 50 per cent of violations will be regularised. Do they mean a sum total of all violations or each a separate violation?” While the Preamble of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961 states that it is to guide the future growth of the State, the scheme sabotages these ideals, he said.

Stating that the scheme is against the Constitution, he said that by allowing violators to regularise their illegalities, it perpetuates injustice on those who have abided by the law.

“The Constitution mandates equality. And by that logic, the scheme should allow those who have built according to the plan to construct more by merely paying money,” he said.

Special Commissioner (Administration) of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike B.S. Ramaprasad, in reply to a question, said that the processing time for applications for regularisation would be completed in a day. “The screening committee is like a single window system and will not involve transferring applications from one department to another,” he said.

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