New Indian Express: Bengaluru: Sunday, May 26, 2024.
Most of these structures in White Rose Layout, Whitefield, are paying guest facilities
Six months after sending a notice to site owners and builders at White Rose Layout in Mahadevapura for deviating from the building sanctioned plan, BBMP officials are yet to take any action. According to an RTI response from BBMP’s Additional Director of Town Planning (ADTP), of 72 buildings in the layout, 34 have sanctioned plans from the Town Planning department, while 38 have no plans. Notices were issued in October 2023 under Sections 248(1) and 248(2) of BBMP Act 2020.
The assistant executive engineer has been mandated to report on the 38 buildings which have come up without sanctioned plans, and are termed illegal. There is still no clarity on steps initiated by the BBMP engineering department.
According to Sandeep Anirudhan, convener, Namma Whitefield, and Illegalities Sub-Committee of Whitefield Citizens’ Ward Committees, “In White Rose Layout, 72 buildings were inspected. Most of these buildings are paying guest (PG) businesses. Only 34 buildings have plan approval from BBMP. Shockingly, the remaining 38 buildings do not even have sanctioned plans, and are unauthorised constructions,” he said.
Residents hope that in keeping with the 117-day deadline promised by the BBMP Chief Commissioner, illegal and unauthorized buildings would be demolished. However, it is now almost seven months (more than 200 days), and not a single building has been demolished.
A resident pointed out that almost all illegal buildings under construction are PG accommodation buildings, the investors/developers are from other states, and their modus operandi is shady as they violate all laws. It is obvious that the money invested is probably black money, and the entire PG business could be a money laundering scheme, he added.
The ED needs to launch an investigation into funding of construction and running of PG buildings in Bengaluru, where these funds are coming from, and why there is such a huge flow of funds into Bengaluru.
Reacting to the development, AEE Venkatesh, Whitefield sub-division, said as some of the residents had approached court after the ADTP passed provisional orders on the property, the court has sought fresh orders to site owners and developers. Meanwhile, notices have been issued to 38 buildings under Section 313 of the BBMP Act, asking owners to show records. “We will check records, issue provisional orders under Section 248(1) and 248(2), and follow up with confirmation of violation order and demolish them under Section 356 of BBMP Act 2020,” said Venkatesh.
Maintain quality of potable water or face action: DyCM to officials
DyCM DK Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Develop-ment Minister, has warned officials of strict action if the quality of potable water is not maintained. In a letter to the BBMP commissioner, Bengaluru ZP CEO, and BWSSB chairman, he said, “All officials must ensure quality potable water for the people of Bengaluru. The officials will be held respo-nsible, and action will be taken if cases of any waterborne diseases are reported.” There are reports of waterborne diseases owing to water contamination across Karna-taka, he said, adding that issue was discussed in a meeting by the CM with the DCs.
BJP plans protest on May 28 seeking better infrastructure for B’luru
Members of the Karnataka unit of the BJP will stage a mega protest on May 28 in Benga-luru, demanding better infra-structure in the state capital. State BJP president BY Vija-yendra convened a meeting of former BBMP councillors and other elected representatives of the party, where they deci-ded to take up the protest aga-inst State Government. Vijaye-ndra said that in the last one year, the State Government has not spent a single rupee on Bengaluru’s development. “With just two days of rain last week, the city’s crumbling infrastructure was exposed,” he said. The BJP has also decided to agitate in every BBMP ward.
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