BENGALURU: Declining to accept the statement of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that there are only 980 illegal buildings in the city, the Karnataka High Court on Monday directed it to conduct a methodical survey to identify the actual number of illegal constructions in Bengaluru.“The survey will have to ascertain the approximate years of construction. It should not only shed light on the buildings constructed without obtaining permission, but also on the deviation after obtaining permission,” the court said.
The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreenivas Oka and Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur said the civic body had adopted a casual approach to identify unauthorised structures. During the hearing of suo motu proceedings, the court orally observed that the BBMP’s statement did not have details like when the survey was conducted and concluded, and what the scope of the study was.
“The government should ensure there are funds and provide required additional manpower to the BBMP for the survey and demolition of illegal buildings. BBMP can take the assistance of the police. The same should be provided by the government,” the HC said.
“For carrying out the survey, serving of notice to illegal building owners and work of demolition, a proposal should be submitted to the government for creating posts, instead of depending on the expert team hired for the said purpose. The government should take action on it within two months from the date of submission of the proposal.
About shortage of law officers, the BBMP should take steps, not later than three months from today,” the court added.Stating that the apex court has held that buildings constructed against law should not be tolerated, the High Court said there should be zero tolerance towards illegal constructions, especially in major cities.
WHAT THE
COURT SAID
n BBMP should remove the illegal constructions by taking action as and when complaints are received
n If a complainant mentions that his name should not be disclosed, the BBMP should take necessary care
n BBMP should place on record the time schedule for identifying unauthorised constructions by December 12, 2019
n BBMP should submit the affidavit containing details of complaints received about illegal constructions in October and November and the action taken