Times of India: Coimbatore: Monday,
September 19, 2016.
City map
shows route connecting Magadi Road and Kodigehalli as motorway.
In Bengaluru,
roads too are often encroached up on. In one such case, residents are crying
foul over a temple that is coming up on a patch of land, which the city map
shows to be a road. Citizens have moved the BBMP commissioner seeking
restoration of the approach road connecting Magadi road to Kodigehalli road. It
was used by students, teachers of a government primary school and Anganwadi
workers for years before the illegal structures came up.
The temple,
which is coming up on the 'road', measures about 20X40 ft. The construction is
not just said to be eating into the road, it is also eating into the entrance
area of a government school, activist Jaykumar Hiremath has detailed in his
complaint to the BBMP.
The case
pertains to an upcoming structure, allegedly being built without requisite land
documents like title deed, encumbrance certificate (EC), khatha and an approved
building plan, at Hosahalli Gollarapalya, off Magadi Road.
"An
unauthorized and illegal building is being constructed on a public road at
Hosahalli Gollarapalya, BBMP ward no 40 (Daddabidirukallu). A 18-feet public
road is in existence from time immemorial, adjacent to survey numbers 15/6/A,
15/6/B and 15/6/C on the eastern side and survey numbers 15/5 and 14 on the
western side (of this public road)," Hiremath has detailed. To the
residents here, this is an access road to Kodigehalli. They said it was being
used till about 2011-2012.
"This is
a classic case of a systematically encroaching a government land. First, two
houses were constructed on this road four years ago. Now, adjacent to one of
these houses, this temple is being constructed. These structures have blocked
120 feet of the Magadi-Kodigehalli stretch. So what used to be a 2 km commute
stretch from Government Primary School to Kodigehalli is now 3 km long as one
has to take a lengthier route to reach Kodigehalli. Moreover, a public road has
been encroached," said another resident.
As per the
revenue department's map issued by assistant director of land records (ADLR),
obtained under RTI, both before and after filing of the complaint last month,
this stretch was shown as a road. It was partially blocked earlier, and has
been completely blocked now, cutting off the connecting road, residents
lamented.
Secondly, not
just the road, this structure also covers 14 ft out of 20 ft of the school's
entrance. It has spared just a 6 ft passage for school students and teachers,
now.
These
structures have come up on land that the revenue department has certified as a
road.
The complaint
to BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad, seeking his intervention, has alleged
lapses on part of the revenue officials and corporators over the illegal construction.
BBMP'S
STANCE
The BBMP
brass maintained that the issue will be examined by the BBMP jurisdictional
engineers, and if the constructions are found to be on government land, the
plot will be retrieved.
"These
complaints are usually referred to concerned jurisdictions. The engineers carry
out an inquiry and report for further action. I will check on the status of
this complaint and ensure immediate action. Constructing anything on a public
road is absolutely illegal. If the land is ours, we will retrieve it," N
Manjunath Prasad, BBMP commissioner, told Bangalore Mirror.
.JPG)
.JPG)
