ABHIR V.P. : CNN-IBN : Sep 16, 2010 ;
Bangalore: As the city grows and real estate prices shoot up, even landfills are not being spared by the real estate mafia.
A right to information (RTI) petition filed by a local activist shows landfills in nine different places have been encroached upon by land sharks. The total area encroached is a shocking 53 acres costing crores of rupees.
S. Amaresh, an RTI activist, said: “If nothing is done to prevent this, our city will soon be affected by plague like how Surat was affected long time ago. We have to stop the encroachment of garbage land and ensure that the encroached land is taken back.”
The encroachment has become a big embarrassment for Bangalore's civic body. The municipal corporation has now promised action.
Siddaiah, Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said: “At least 35,000 acres of land has been encroached upon in Bangalore. This is consists of government land, revenue land, agricultural land and now garbage land. We have set up a task force to reclaim this land.”
Civic authorities said they would wait for the task force to file its report before taking action. But with rampant encroachment across the city, they certainly have an uphill task at hand.
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