Kogilu demolition: Another survey likely, families remain homeless

The earlier survey conducted to assess families affected by the demolition attempt in Fakeer Colony in Kogilu, Yelahanka and parts of Waseem Layout may be disregarded, with officials in the housing corporation and revenue department indicating that a fresh re-survey is likely.

This development has further increased the uncertainty faced by displaced families who have been homeless since December 20 despite assurances from Minister for Minority Welfare and Housing BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan that houses would be provided by the long overdue January 2. The Housing Minister had no comment.

But affected families said these surveys were merely a way to delay the process and reduce the number of beneficiaries. He added that they will launch a campaign to have the housing allocations clearly approved by Republic Day.

Issues related to verification of beneficiaries, eligibility norms and fluctuations in the number of affected families have emerged as major gaps. When Hindu Residents who visited the area a month after the demolition noted that several families from other settlements and work areas began to stay in the area after learning that housing benefits were extended to the displaced, further complicating the verification process.

The state government has offered to allocate flats to evicted families under the Chief Minister’s One Lakh Housing Scheme. However, meeting all of the program’s eligibility requirements was not considered practical by families. Many claimed that not all residents were properly verified during previous investigations and expressed fear that some genuine claimants could be excluded from the final list. They also questioned Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh’s recent statement that only 90 families were deemed eligible and asked on what basis this figure was determined.

Displaced families also demanded transparency about eligibility criteria, arguing that authorities should clearly explain requirements and provide alternatives where families fall short under any circumstances. “Although most of the residents here have Aadhaar cards and ration cards, some families lost their documents during the demolition. In such cases, utility bills, service records or other official residence documents are acceptable,” said Daulat Abdullah, a resident of the area.

Neighborhood residents also drew attention to the cancellation of report cards and said that they were canceled due to the ‘irregular removal’ of report cards from the region. “In most cases, rations were never distributed as the settlement was not recognized for public distribution, resulting in several families being penalized for administrative overruns,” said Ismail Muhammad, another resident.

The number of families affected by the devastation varied sharply according to surveys. An NGO and Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) initially put the number of demolished sheds at 167; A joint survey by revenue officials and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) identified 180 affected families. Following the housing announcement, the count submitted by slum managers first increased to 350, then was reduced to 280. At last count, this number dropped to 242 families.

However, officials from the revenue department said that as per the initial assessment, all 242 families may not qualify as the scheme imposes multiple conditions, including at least five years of residence in Bengaluru and possession of documents such as voter ID, ration card and Aadhaar. Failure to meet any of these requirements will result in exclusion from the exercise entirely, officials said.