BENGALURU: A sudden shift in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) approach for selectively choosing areas to halt removal of encroachments on drains — the “villains” behind the recent floods from the east to south-east parts of Bengaluru — has raised suspicions on whether the civic body is serious about the demolitions, or whether it is an eyewash.
BBMP’s ‘Operation Storm Water Drain Encroachment’ drive to remove encroachments entered the fourth day. The civic body cleared 29 encroachments in four zones on Thursday, taking the tally to 73 since Monday.
Interestingly, the drive in parts of Mahadevapura zone which were the worst affected by the floods, and where JCBs were pressed for the first three days as part of the demolition, was stopped. The BBMP now wants to take up a ‘survey’ and only then resume the demolition drive.
As part of the sudden change in stand, the BBMP set up a Survey Task Force after stopping the demolition drive until the survey was completed. Places like Vagdevi Layout, Munnekolalu, Kasavanahalli Village, ABK Village, Prestige Tech Park, Wipro, Sunny Brooks Doddakanahalli, Belathur Village, Sadaramangala Village, Bollenini Sasa Apartment Interior and Sai Garden Layout are being surveyed. Corporation officials and Land Surveyors Department officials conducted a survey and issued notices to the squatters.
Instead of focusing on removing encroachments in the worst-affected areas of Bengaluru, the BBMP has taken up the drive in Dasarahalli, Yelahanka (both in north Bengaluru), Bommanahalli (south) and parts of Mahadevapur zone (east and south-east).
‘Those who gave NOCs must be held accountable’
But the areas where this drive continues were much less affected than where it has been stopped. This move has led to civic activists and Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) casting aspersions on the BBMP’s actual intentions. Civic activist Wing Commander (Retd) G P Athri said the drive seems to be an eyewash, and cited promises made by previous BBMP commissioners to remove these encroachments, despite which nothing happened.
“Earlier N Manjunath Prasad promised an encroachment clearance drive; then B H Anil Kumar promised it; Gaurav Gupta also promised the same, but nothing happened. I have recently written a letter to BBMP Administrator Rakesh Singh (also the Additional Chief Secretary in Urban Development Department), asking him to step in to remove an encroachment near a drain in Bommanahalli. But till today, nothing has happened. This drive is just a knee-jerk reaction and an attempt to cool the sentiments of the public, impacted by floods, he said.
Echoing the same, Vidya Goggi from Bengaluru Apartments Federation, said, those who gave occupancy certificates, NOCs and other documents must be held accountable. “If we speak or point out, there are chances that we may get targeted. The BBMP’s action is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction,” she said. Srinivas Alavilli from Janaagraha said it was time for Lokayukta to step in. “The Lokayukta should take up suo motu cases and initiate a probe,” he said.
HC ASKS BBMP IF PROBE IS ON
The Karnataka High Court on Thursday orally asked the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) whether proceedings of encroachments have been stayed and if any parallel authority is inquiring into the storm water drain encroachments issue.