The Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) has changed the rules for the 3,700 Arkavathy Layout allottees who have been unable to take possession of their plots despite making payments more than a decade ago. The new order of the authority empowers a committee led by BDA Chairman SR Vishwanath to decide on providing alternate sites to allottees, delegating power to the BDA commissioner. The BDA issued a new order on September 15 citing several reasons, stating that the alternate site allotment committee will review all Arkavathy Layout allottees' applications for alternate sites. In the past, the committee was chaired by IAS commissioners, but now it is chaired by a political appointee in a non-official position. This, according to some, could lead to irregularities. The reasons cited for the system change are that allottees have been demanding only sites located in developed areas of the layout or those that are Vastu-compliant. The BDA mentioned in a recent order that it would no longer encourage such demands and that site allocation would take place on a random basis. The committee will decide on the allocation, according to the order. The revised order has sparked controversy. According to BS Shivakumar, president of Jayaprakash Narayan Vichara Vedike, officials should have the authority to assign alternate sites because they could be held accountable if there are any irregularities. BDA's claim that allottees want sites in the developed areas of the layout made no sense to him. According to him, the BDA is only allowed to distribute sites after the layout has been completed with water supply, sanitary lines, and roads. Shivakumar requested Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's intervention, claiming that the CM is in charge of Bengaluru Development. Appointing a non-official as the committee's head, Shivakumar believed, could lead to corruption. BDA commissioner Rajesh Gowda responded by stating that the BDA Act allows the BDA chairman to chair the alternate site allotment committee. Arkavathy Layout allottees who were unable to take possession of their sites were given an alternate site in Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout, according to a state government order issued in 2017. The order was issued in response to widespread outrage that many allottees, mostly senior citizens, had made payments as early as 2000 but the BDA had been unable to hand over the sites for house construction. Image Source