Eviction row: Govt considering rehabilitating genuine locals, says Deputy CM Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): As the demolition of "illegal houses" at Kogilu in north Bengaluru triggered a political row, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said the state government is considering rehabilitating genuine locals who were evicted.
He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would convene a meeting on the issue on Monday.
The houses at Kogilu's Waseem Layout and Fakir Colony were demolished on December 20 by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited to clear encroachments for a proposed solid waste processing unit, officials said claiming that the houses were constructed without any official permission, and most of the occupants were migrants from other states.
"....our officials had given proper notice (before demolition). We are ready to rehabilitate those people if they are genuine and if they are local people. We will do whatever the best help we can under the Rajiv Gandhi housing scheme," Shivakumar, who is also the Minister in-charge of Bengaluru development said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called a meeting tomorrow on the eviction issue.
State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, who visited the locality, also said the CM and Deputy CM have called a meeting on this matter on Monday, where a decision may be taken regarding providing alternative arrangements to the people whose houses have been demolished.
"We can expect some good news," he said, adding that notices were served and temporary arrangements were also made for their shelter, but the people were not ready to move, as they feared they would be left nowhere.
The demolition sparked a political controversy after Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the drive, calling it a "brutal normalisation of the bulldozer raj".
After Vijayan's statement, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal said he has spoken to CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar and conveyed the party's concerns that such actions (demolition) should be undertaken with far greater caution, sensitivity, and compassion, keeping the human impact at the centre.
Meanwhile, accusing Venugopal of interfering in Karnataka's administration, the opposition BJP on Sunday asked whether he is "super CM" of the state.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly R Ashoka said Karnataka deserves respect, autonomy, and honest governance, not high-command "theatrics".
"Karnataka is not a colony of Rahul Gandhi and his coterie."
"Who is K C Venugopal to “intervene” in the administration of Karnataka? Is he a Super CM, or does the Congress high command believe elected state governments function on Delhi diktats?" he asked.
Venugopal's comments have drawn flak from other opposition leaders and social media users.
Reacting to BJP's criticism against the Congress leader, Shivakumar clarified that Venugopal has not interfered in the administration of the state in any way.
"Venugopal as a General Secretary of the party has power to advise us -- that if anything is there we should go in a larger interest," he said, questioning whether BJP in-charges and offices haven't advised their government while that party was in power.
Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, responding to a question from reporters, accused Kerala CM of "engaging in politics" over the demolition issue, keeping upcoming polls for Kerala assembly in mind.
Some political leaders and organisations from Kerala too, have visited the demolition site, which is being seen as "minority vote bank politics" by politicians from the neighbouring state, as most of the affected are said to be Muslims.
Kerala MLA K T Jaleel, who visited the spot said, if the houses were illegal, how did they get voter id, electricity connection, Aadhar card and other things.
He said, "there is no difference between Congress and BJP....people have said they have not got any notice before demolition. Government should take steps to rehabilitate affected people at alternate places."
Number of affected families have stood their ground and have refused to move from the vicinity, despite their houses being demolished, sources said.
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Building castle in the air: SC irked over non-compliance of orders by states in stray dog case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday flagged concern over state governments not complying with its directions to enhance their stray dog sterilisation capacity, saying, "They are all building castles in the air."
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria, which commenced hearing states' submissions on compliance of its earlier directions, expressed its unhappiness over the progress and said they were engaged in "storytelling".
Senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal, who has been appointed amicus curiae in the matter, summarised the initiatives taken by different states, while flagging the deficiencies.
He pointed out that some states have taken steps in consonance with the top court's direction, but there was still a long way to go for total compliance.
The governments will have to step up animal birth control (ABC) facilities, ramp up sterilisation of stray dogs, set up dog pounds (animal shelters), fence up institutional areas and remove stray animals from roads and highways, the advocate said.
Pointing to the initiatives taken by the Bihar government, Agrawal said there are 34 ABC Centres where, they say, 20,648 dogs have been sterilised. But they have not specified the daily capacity of sterilisation, and for what period the figure specifies, he said.
"The state should have done a complete audit of ABC centres. If there are more than six lakh dogs in the state, sterilisation of 20,648 dogs is totally insufficient. Ninety-one dogs are presently lodged in the pounds.
"The affidavit does not indicate in how many institutional areas the survey has been done to see if there are fences, boundary walls, etc.," Agarwal submitted.
The bench said, "They are all building castles in the air. None of the states have given data on how many stray dog bites happened, except for Assam."
Advocate Manish Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, however, said the state was putting things in place, and substantial progress will be made within three months.
The top court also expressed surprise over the data on dog bites in Assam. "Look at the statistics of bites. It is astonishing. In 2024, there were 1.66 lakh bites. And in 2025, only in January, there were 20,900. This is shocking," it observed.
The bench said that states cannot make vague statements, and all vague averments are made on affidavits. "We are going to pass strong strictures against states that make vague averments," Justice Nath said.
The apex court, which also heard the submissions of Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat, observed non-compliance of directions for fencing of institutional areas to prevent ingress of stray animals into schools and hospitals.
"Every public building should be fenced, not only because of stray dogs or other animals but also to protect the property from theft," the bench observed. It said that states have engaged in "storytelling and nothing concrete appears to have been done on the ground".
Agrawal said he will summarise the steps taken by Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana on Thursday.
The top court posted the matters for hearing on Thursday.
On January 20, the top court came down heavily on former Union minister Maneka Gandhi for her remarks criticising apex court orders in the stray dog issue, saying she has committed contempt of court.
The top court was hearing several petitions seeking modification of its November 7, 2025, order directing authorities to remove stray animals from the institutional areas and roads. On January 13, the top court said it would ask states to pay a "heavy compensation" for dog bite incidents and hold dog feeders accountable for such cases.
The court also flagged concerns over the non-implementation of norms on stray animals for the last five years.
Earlier, the apex court said it would not go into the allegations of harassment of women dog feeders and caregivers by purported anti-feeder vigilantes since it was a law and order issue, and the aggrieved persons could lodge FIRs about it. It also refused to go into the claims about certain derogatory remarks being made about women on the issue.
Taking note of the "alarming rise" in dog-bite incidents within institutional areas such as educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations, the apex court on November 7 directed relocation of stray canines forthwith to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination.
It had also said stray dogs picked up shall not be released back to their original place. The court had directed authorities to ensure the removal of all cattle and other stray animals from the state highways, national highways and expressways.
The top court is hearing a suo motu case, initiated on July 28 last year, over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.
