Bangalore:
Residents of Koramangala Housing Board Colony wear a smile these days as they plant saplings in the park space they have. They want to develop a thick green patch there.
However, till a few weeks ago, they were not in a position to touch this space. Reason: The entire park space was illegally converted into house sites and a related battle was going on among the residents, allottees and the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) itself.
The struggle of these residents to regain park space could be an inspiration for others. Ever since this colony was created in 1974, the land was marked as a park and open space. But in 1989, KHB formed 20 sites there without getting any permission from the state government or the Bangalore Development Authority, which is a requirement under the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. Later, the site owners erected some structures and the precious park space was almost gobbled up.
In the early 1990's, the residents decided to fight for the park. However, their struggle was not yielding results as they were not able to provide relevant records after moving the court. Then they filed an RTI petition.
"Earlier, we were not able to gather any information. But after the RTI Act came into effect, we have been able to do so," says Dr K Umeshwara, president of the Koramangala Residents' Forum.
"The RTI Act helped us in numerous ways. Because of it, we've been able to get information on the allocation of land, cancellation, etc. Now we have taken it as our duty to develop a park," says he.
Recently, members of the residents' welfare association planted saplings at the site as a symbolic start to make the park a reality.
"We started working for the cause two years ago but in the last two months, we have been at it continuously. We have been fighting even with the KHB for over one-and-a-half years," says Ravindra K, another resident.
"This plot has been allotted to us so that there is lung space. Hence, it should be used only for that purpose," says Umeshwara.
However, there are legal hurdles with one or two sites in the park space.
"A park cannot be formed in a residential zone under the present CDP Plan. He has been paying tax until 2003 for the site," says Manjunath N, a caretaker of one such site, and a relative of the site owner KH Sudarshan.
He adds that while the corporation has permitted other buildings to come up in the so-called park area, only vacant sites are being targeted. "This is a divided policy. We are going the legal way to get justice," he says.
However, members of the RWA are confident of getting the entire space for them soon.
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