BANGALORE: Opposition Leader in city council, M Nagaraj, on Wednesday alleged Mantri Mall in Malleswaram had violated building byelaws and thus its plan approval should be cancelled.
At a press conference, Nagaraj alleged that the mall had violated several byelaws. He said the mall was required to leave 16 metre in front but it had left only eight metre. He added that the mall was supposed to leave 10 per cent of the construction area for a garden but it did not do it. Nagaraj added that the developers of the mall had not taken permission from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for not leaving part of their land vacant.
Further, he said the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) too had imposed a fine of `34.82 crore on the mall for the violations. He said the mall developers had assured to develop a road behind the mall, which they did not do.
He claimed that the BBMP's Chief Engineer (West) had recommended the withdrawal of Occupancy Certificate (OC) of the mall as the developers did not fulfill any condition the BBMP had set before the construction. Nagaraj said the mall's plan approval as well as the OC should be withdrawn.
The mall will have a metro station. Nagaraj said Namma Metro had released compensation for slums that were affected during construction but the mall developers had not forwarded the amount to its rightful beneficiaries.
Nagaraj alleged that there were many illegal constructions on uncultivable land across the city. He said the BBMP and the government should take action against the violators. He said many private builders were flouting norms. He added that Lokayukta should be approached to investigate the alleged encroachments.
Nagaraj warned that if the government or the BBMP failed to act on these allegations, then he and his partymen, along with the residents of Malleswaram, would stage a protest outside the mall.