BDA recovers Rs 100-crore land from major encroachment racket after legal battle

Bengaluru: In a major breakthrough against rampant land grabbing in the city, the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) on Wednesday reclaimed high-value government property worth over Rs 100 crore in Malagala village, following years of legal battle led by lawyer R. Parameshwar and decisive enforcement by Bengaluru Rural SP Lakshmi Ganesh.

Officials described the operation as a significant blow to a powerful syndicate allegedly involved in fencing and grabbing government lands across Bengaluru. According to officials, Survey No. 9 of Malagala village, measuring 7 acres, had already been notified by the BDA years ago for the formation of Nagarabhavi 2nd Stage.

Despite the final notification, a group led by Manichetti, Geetha Manichetti, Manjunath Manichetti and others allegedly created fabricated land documents and attempted to illegally convert the land into residential plots. The encroached portion was valued at over ₹100 crore, officials said.

For nearly three years, lawyer R. Parameshwar has been fighting to save the land from encroachers. Starting his battle at the BDA and later moving the Karnataka Special Land Grabbing Court, Parameshwar pursued multiple petitions and objections on behalf of the complainants. Senior advocate N. Shashidhar represented the petitioners during the final proceedings before the special court.

His efforts paid off after the Special Land Grabbing Court issued orders in favour of the BDA, directing authorities to take possession of the encroached land. Acting swiftly on the directive, BDA officials on Wednesday reclaimed the notified land, now measuring 24 guntas, from those who had been illegally occupying it.

A senior BDA official said the civic body would continue to intensify its crackdown on forged records and illegal land conversions. “This recovery sets a strong precedent. There are several more cases where government lands have been grabbed using fabricated documents. Action will continue,” the official said.

Lawyer Parameshwar, who played a central role in the case, said the victory belonged to the people of Bengaluru. “These lands belong to the government and ultimately to the public. Protecting public property is our responsibility. I am happy that justice has prevailed,” he said.

The recovery has been widely acknowledged as one of the most significant recent successes in BDA’s anti-encroachment operations, highlighting the growing challenge of organised land-grabbing networks in and around Bengaluru.

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