Bengaluru’s pre-dawn demolition drive displaces dozens, igniting fury over timing, legality, and selective enforcement as residents and politicians clash.
A demolition drive on 22 December 2025 razed illegal homes in Kogilu’s Waseem Layout and Fakir Colony near Bengaluru, displacing dozens of mostly migrant families and igniting public fury over its 4 am timing, lack of notice, and selective enforcement.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah defended it as clearing encroachments from an unsafe waste dump for a processing unit, while residents and protesters decried homelessness. Opposition like Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan labelled it “bulldozer raj,” and Congress leaders urged compassion.
Latest updates include Deputy CM D K Shivakumar announcing rehabilitation for genuine locals under housing schemes, with a CM meeting held on 29 December.
Scale and Human Impact
The operation targeted around 50-60 unauthorised structures erected without permission on land owned by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), a site previously used as an unsafe waste dump.
Primarily affecting migrant families from other states, the drive left residents-many low-income workers-scrambling amid rubble at dawn, with children and elderly caught off-guard.
Eyewitnesses described bulldozers rolling in without adequate warning, despite claims of prior notices, turning homes into debris and sparking immediate protests led by groups like the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), who demanded emergency shelter and compensation.
Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, after visiting the site, acknowledged the distress, stating, “We are ready to rehabilitate those people if they are genuine and local,” and outlined plans under government housing schemes like PMAY.
Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan echoed this, promising temporary aid and vowing no repeat without proper process. Yet, affected families contested the “illegal” label, insisting they had resided there for years without eviction threats, highlighting a gap between official records and lived realities.
This human toll underscores broader urban challenges in Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley, where rapid growth strains housing for migrants fuelling its IT boom. Over 1,000 such encroachments dot BSWML land, per reports, raising questions on why this site was prioritised now.youtube
Political Reactions Intensify
The demolition swiftly escalated into a political tinderbox. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slammed it as “brutal normalisation of bulldozer raj,” accusing authorities of targeting minorities-a charge amplified amid national debates on similar drives elsewhere.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah rebutted sharply, insisting repeated relocation notices since 2023 were ignored, and the land was unfit for habitation due to toxic waste, necessitating clearance for a vital processing unit.
Within Congress, internal fissures emerged as AICC general secretary K C Venugopal urged Siddaramaiah to “act with greater caution, sensitivity, and compassion,” prompting BJP’s riposte.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka mocked Venugopal as aspiring “super CM” from Delhi, while accusing the state government of remote control.
Shivakumar dismissed such barbs, noting, “Party leaders always advise; it’s routine,” and emphasised the action’s legality under court orders for waste management.
Opposition parties, including BJP and JD(S), rallied behind protesters, alleging selective enforcement-why spare nearby elite encroachments? Congress flagged it as a governance lapse, with protests swelling outside BBMP offices by 28 December.
This row coincides with local body polls, turning a local eviction into an election flashpoint.
Historical Context and Precedents
Bengaluru’s eviction battles trace back decades, intensified by the city’s population surge from 8.4 million in 2011 to over 13 million today, per census projections. Past drives, like the 2022 Ejipura slum clearance, displaced thousands with promises of rehab that faltered, eroding trust.
The current site, near Yelahanka, hosted a landfill since 2012, drawing complaints over health hazards like contaminated water and fires, prompting BBMP’s renewed push.
Leading up, BSWML issued notices in 2023-24, but implementation lagged amid pandemic recoveries and elections. Post-demolition, a 29 December CM-chaired meeting reviewed rehab, signalling damage control amid viral social media outrage-videos of crying families amassed millions of views.
Nationally, it echoes “bulldozer justice” critiques, from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, where courts mandated due process, including 15-day notices and hearings.
Experts note urban India’s 30% slum population faces cyclical evictions without alternatives, per UN-Habitat data, urging in-situ development over demolition.
Legal and Procedural Questions
Legality hinges on BBMP Act provisions allowing removal of encroachments on public land, backed by a high court nod for waste site clearance.
Yet, residents allege breached natural justice-no hearing, midnight timing violating norms. RTI data reveals 200+ similar structures untouched elsewhere, fuelling “selective” claims.
Karnataka High Court has previously stayed hasty drives, as in 2024 Hebbal cases, demanding rehab first. Activists filed pleas by 28 December, potentially halting further action.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Evictions enforce law but must never trample humanity; Bengaluru’s drive exposes the peril of compassion’s absence, deepening divides among vulnerable migrants vital to the city’s pulse.
The Logical Indian champions dialogue over destruction-fair notices, empathetic rehab, and inclusive planning foster harmony, turning conflict into coexistence.
