Blame the mess on loopholes, apathy

Blame the mess on loopholes, apathy
The Times of India

Residents of Koramangala woke up to their changing environs in early 2000. They complained to the public grievance cell of BDA that building by-laws were being violated at will in their peaceful residential area, and commercialisation was rampant.

The authorities took up the issue, and found that a number of complaints were about large-scale violation in the change of land use in Koramangala, which was leading to heavy traffic and parking hazards. “Loss of privacy, disturbance and noise pollution,’’ the citizens had complained.

The BDA surveyed the area and found that on plots earmarked for residential purposes stood commercial complexes; some had built residential buildings but had converted them into offices, mainly software firms. This is not all. Even residential bylanes of Indiranagar, BMT and MICO Layouts had become the target of IT companies due to easy accessibility to Electronics City.

The BDA identified more than 150 such cases in Koramangala with violations of change of land use and issued notices seeking explanations from the building owners. In fact, when some owners refused to take the notices, BDA officials had them pasted on compound walls. However, over the last few years, some establishments have followed the formalities for change of land use.

This is how the bungling happens: Though the land use pattern is fixed by the BDA, it is the BCC which approves the building plan. Here, due to lack of coordination and also after considerable “palm greasing’’, the BCC approves the plan for a commercial building on a residential plot without verifying the land use sanction. When notices are issued by the BDA questioning the violation of land use, the owner has an easy way out by showing the approved plan. Also, residential-turned-commercial buildings enjoy all the benefits of a domestic consumer — be it water, power or property tax.

But traffic policemen heave a sigh of relief

The Bangalore traffic police are relieved. For, they hope density of traffic will come down in Koramangala once the BCC implements the HC order and evicts commercial units operating from residential premises. Parking problems in bylanes of Koramangala will also ease, said a senior office. Many residents had petitioned the authorities to display noparking boards to prevent employees of commercial establishments and visitors from blocking their homes.