BMP cracks down on violators

BMP cracks down on violators

The Hindu

The civic body has identified over 1,000 buildings for demolition

# TDR notified by Govt. in February
# Officials asked to survey building bylaw violations in March
# Over 1,000 violations identified so far
# Demolition notices issued to violators
# Hosur, Bellary and Airport roads to be widened first

BANGALORE: To create a demand for its "controversial" Transferable Development Rights (TDR), the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) authorities have identified and issued demolition notices to over 1,000 buildings that have deviated from the original sanctioned plan, all over the city. With the TDR concept yet to catch up with Bangaloreans, the civic body is now waiting for people to respond to the demolition notices and voluntarily come forward to opt for the new scheme, a senior BMP official in the Projects Wing, said.

The BMP Commissioner, K. Jothiramalingam, had directed the three zonal deputy commissioners and 12 executive engineers in March to start a survey of building bylaw violations on roads whose width is more than 40 feet.

Notification

This follows the State Government's final notification on February 3 permitting the BMP to grant TDR to property owners and leaseholders for road widening. The rights envisage permitting an additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) to owners whose lands are acquired for road widening. "The BMP can acquire the lands without paying compensation and the owners have the option to either extend construction or sell the `rights' to a prospective builder in specified zones," the BMP Engineer-in-Chief, Rame Gowda, said.

He said that each of the executive engineers had identified around 100 building bylaw violations on the identified roads in their jurisdiction.

Hosur Road first

Though the idea was to take up 45 roads for widening in the first phase, the civic body has now decided to start with Hosur Road first. "Then we will take up Bellary Road and Airport Road as there is heavy traffic on these roads. Besides, these roads also connect the IT corridor to the city," Mr. Rame Gowda said.

Pointing out that four property owners on Hosur Road had already written to the BMP that they would opt for TDR, he said that only such stretches that were very narrow were being widened.

Mr. Rame Gowda explained that TDR was an optional scheme and citizens need not worry about any sudden demolition of the identified buildings. If the owner did not want to opt for TDR, the BMP would have to acquire the required land under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. The Act permits the BMP to pay a `reasonable market value' of the property acquired as compensation to the owner, he said. "So it is better if the owner opts for TDR because here he has the option to sell the rights to a prospective buyer at the current market value without any hassle," he added.