BENGALURU: After a gap of two years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities are going to restart the removal of Storm Water Drain (SWD) encroachment drive from Monday.
Within BBMP limits there are 633 SWDs which cover 842 km. Of this, 142 km are primary drains and 426 km are secondary drains. The actual capacity of the drains is only 80 mm of rain. But due to encroachment and non-maintenance, the capacity has reduced from 35 mm from 40 mm. In 2016, after the city witnessed floods, then Chief Minister Siddaramiah directed the BBMP to take up the removal drive. BBMP authorities in association with the Bengaluru Urban DC and local police took up the drive. It attracted criticism from residents who lost their property. At that time, authorities started the drive without giving prior notice.
In July 2016, BBMP officials had given a list of 1,953 SWD encroachments to Siddaramaiah. By the end of 2017, they had cleared 1260 encroachments. However, since then, the drive was not taken up as there were no surveyors. Recently Bengaluru Urban DC Vijay Shankar said that the had asked for surveyors till the work is completed as the residents would remove the markings. Now, surveyors have been instructed to mark properties encroaching the drains and monitor them until they are cleared.
The BBMP intends to kick off the first phase on Monday with the Mahadevapura and Yelahanka zones. "Out of remaining 728 cases, they have asked surveyors to survey 434 properties on the basis of priority.
On Monday, 50 properties, each at Mahadevapura and Yelahanka will be surveyed and the encroachment removal drive will begin as well. We will remove the compound and sheds on the same day, for residential and other buildings, after serving a notice,'' an official said on the condition anonymity.
Speaking to TNIE, Chief Engineer (SWD) Prahlad said the removal process will be in stages. Their target is 50 cases every week. After Deepawali, the second phase will start. “We want to tell people that encroachment is a crime”' he said. When asked about the allegations of sparing the influential, he denied. “We treat all encroachment cases equally,'” he added.