BENGALURU: On noticing that a building in the area was slightly tilted, Rajarajeshwari Nagar Joint Commissioner Nagaraju Siddappa ordered another survey on structures, residential and commercial complexes along the Vrishabhavathi valley.
The survey of buildings will be taken up by West and RR Nagar zones, and will be parallel to ongoing surveys by the revenue department, Bengaluru Urban DC office and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
A senior revenue department official said, “Surveys are almost never completed, or the reports are not submitted to the departments concerned. It is a wasteful exercise and expenditure. This is a classic example of lack of coordination.” He added that most of the time, surveys are announced just to appease politicians, a group of people or even the media. “After that, surveys are abandoned, and officials cite shortage of staff or funds, or even the pandemic as the reason,” he claimed.
JC Siddappa said, “We are conducting the survey to ascertain how many buildings are located on the buffer zone of Vrishabhavathi valley and how many are encroaching the stormwater drains.” He added that they have now decided to issue notices to all those who have encroached these spaces.
In the case of a house in RR Nagar Zone, Nagaraju said the owner has been asked to vacate the property and will be given three days to either demolish the property or pay the BBMP for demolition. The KSPCB has undertaken a survey along the valley to check on pollutants entering the water body, the inlets and outlets of the valley, the entry of industrial effluents and domestic sewage. The district administration is checking for encroachments across all water bodies in its jurisdiction, and areas outside BBMP limits are also being surveyed.