A contentious debate unfolded during the Belagavi City Corporation council meeting on Thursday, as the ruling group defended the land acquisition process for road construction in Shahapur, while the opposition strongly opposed it.
The central issue involved the construction of a road from the Bank of India Circle to Old Dharwad road in Shahapur, where land was taken without the consent of the owners. The affected landowner took the matter to the High Court, resulting in a stay order. The court directed the corporation to either compensate the landowner with Rs 20 crore or return the land.
In a previous meeting, the corporation had agreed to compensate the landowner, but was unable to make the payment within the stipulated timeframe. As a result, the corporation returned the land, avoiding contempt of court. This development led to a fierce exchange of words in Thursday’s general meeting.
MLA Abhay Patil, who brought up the issue, defended the construction of the road, stating it was built for the public’s benefit. “The corporation made the right decision to serve the people’s convenience,” he said.
However, MLA Asif Raju Sait strongly opposed this stance, arguing that it was illegal to construct a road without following proper land acquisition procedures. “If the land acquisition process had been completed earlier, we wouldn’t be facing this issue now,” he emphasized.
MLA Patil countered by pointing out that many development projects were initiated without land acquisition during the previous administration. “It’s not wrong to make bold decisions that benefit the public. When 95% of the population benefits, we sometimes have to prioritize public utility over legal formalities. Slandering such actions as illegal is unfair,” he argued, adding that the closure of the road has caused significant problems for schoolchildren, traders, and led to traffic congestion.
Sait responded by suggesting that the landowner, could still be persuaded, provided the leaders reached a consensus.
The council also recommended stringent measures to recover Rs 2 crore in dues from government offices occupying corporation buildings and an additional Rs 17 crore from KPTCL.
MLA Asif Sait’s blaming Abhay Patil is not right, as he has done it in d interest of d Nation as Govt n people were in need of that road, accordingly he has done is appreciated n appreciable. Now owners hv demanded compensation n its d duty of d corpn n Govt is to pay for that, n incompetence on their part made them to return is also good.