Land use: Even law is not a deterrent

TIMES CITY CAMPAIGN: ENSURE COMPLIANCE OF LAND USE RULES
Even law is not a deterrent
Times of India

Bangalore: Ever since the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, was legislated, Section 462 has been enforced only twice. Long long ago. Now, BCC officials say, “People have got smarter.’’
The Section in question allows either the executive engineer or the deputy commissioner of BCC to demolish illegally constructed buildings.

“Once we come across some violation of building bylaws and serve a provisional order (akin to showcause notice) followed by a conformation order, there is a stay order or a status quo from the court on our table within 24 hours. And that is the end of it all,’’ said a senior BCC engineer.

Sample this:
Since 1995, some 4,200 cases are pending in Bangalore courts wherein BCC has served notices to buildings for violating bylaws. Of that, 1,800 to 1,900 notices have been served on unauthorised constructions and mainly for non-compliance of the basement laws. One hundred and twenty cases were disposed of recently. All judgments were in BCC’s favour. But political pressure put a full stop to the demolitions.

According to the Building Bylaws of 1983, a basement is meant for parking alone unless there is sufficient parking as prescribed by the bylaws (see box). Only with enough parking space can the basement area have air-conditioned offices. These bylaws were carried forward to the
Building Bylaws of 2003 with a few additions. All rules, however, remain only on paper. “People set up shops and restaurants in the basement violating bylaws. But then the construction lobby is very strong. They seem to know some minister, some corporator,’’ said a BCC official. Moreover, law states there should be no drainage in the basements.

This boils down to: all restaurants set up in the basements are unauthorised. On record, there are at least 30 such restaurants’ cases pending in courts, and off the record, corporation officials quote at least 100 more such cellar restaurants functioning in the city.

The BCC’s health department is expected to inspect the restaurants on sanitation, cleanliness and other aspects and then pass on the floor plan to the engineering department. But that kind of coordination hardly happens. “As a result, restaurants come up in the basements with the BCC’s stamp of approval,’’ said a BCC engineer.

CAR PARK AREA

One car park area has to be earmarked for every 50 sqmt of floor area of office building or retail business; 10 sqmt area of kalyana mandiras; 50 sqmt of residential building; 25 sqmt of restaurants and foodstalls; and for every 100 sqmt of public and semi-public buildings.

WE THE PEOPLE

Roy Chermana, resident of Koramangala

: Unless the government officials are hand in glove with the builders, illegal construction cannot come up. We need to strengthen our system, it has to become more transparent.

Prem Koshy, restaurateur:

Not following a particular building bylaw is where the whole problem is. If we don’t abide by the law, we undermine democracy. Knowing that something is a violation, the ‘swalpa adjust maadi’ attitude is wrong. So far, I have not had any problems with the way my restaurant is.