Bengaluru, Jan 8 : The Karnataka government is set to rehabilitate people whose houses were demolished as they had encroached on government land. The state government plans to distribute houses to them amid controversy and stiff opposition from the BJP in Bengaluru.

The government has prepared to provide houses to 26 people in the first phase, out of the 167 families whose residential structures were demolished earlier near Kogilu Layout in the city.

The decision is likely to trigger a major controversy, as it has already drawn sharp criticism from the BJP against the Congress-led government.

Minister for Housing and Waqf Zameer Ahmed Khan, speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Thursday, said that the document verification process has been completed.

â??I was informed that the verification of documents has been completed. I received a call from Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda in this regard yesterday. The authorities may allot houses to those 26 people today,â?? he said.

â??The document verification of 26 people has been cleared. Everyone knows that the authorities are scrutinising the documents. Out of a total of 260 houses, 161 houses were demolished. We have received more applications, and it is not possible to allot houses to everyone who applied. It has been decided that those whose houses were demolished will be provided housing facilities, as per the instructions of the Chief Minister,â?? Zameer said.

He added that the beneficiaries must be local residents and belong to Karnataka. â??We will not provide houses to people from outside the state under any circumstances. To be eligible for housing, they must have been residing in Bengaluru city for at least five years. This is the reason for the delay,â?? he stated.

Sources said Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has finalised the list of beneficiaries and has also compiled details of their mother tongue and background to counter BJP allegations that Bangladeshi nationals were being provided housing as part of appeasement politics by the Congress-led government.

According to the list, the beneficiaries include 108 Kannada speakers, 103 Urdu speakers, 13 Tamil speakers, 11 Hindi speakers and three Marathi speakers. A few Telugu-speaking families have also been included.

Karnataka BJP chief and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra alleged on Monday that the government is colluding to turn the state into another Bangladesh.

Speaking at a protest organised near the Country Club on Bagalur Main Road under the slogan â??Save Kogilu, remove illegal migrantsâ??, Vijayendra termed the move to allot houses to alleged illegal migrants an unpardonable crime and said the BJP strongly condemns it and will launch statewide protests.

He claimed the government demolished houses, but the moment AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal issued threats, Siddaramaiah, fearing the loss of his chief ministerial chair, decided to provide houses to illegal migrants.

/IANS