Buildings razed in Koramangala

Buildings razed in Koramangala

The Hindu

The action was taken by the BMP as zonal laws had been violated


Bangalore: The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) on Saturday began demolition of several buildings in fifth block, Kormanagala, following orders passed by the Karnataka High Court. Last month, the High Court had directed the BMP to conduct an extensive survey of buildings in Koramangala which were reportedly used for commercial purposes, violating zoning laws. Many other buildings had violated building bylaws of the BMP and several commercial complexes were located in areas coming under residential zones.

Survey

The BMP while undertaking a survey had clarified that certain categories of commercial use such as restaurants, grocery and general stores and laundries could be operated in residential zones but not others.

In Koramangala, several buildings were found to house firms related to information technology and IT-enabled services like business process outsourcing (BPO).

The demolitions were carried out with tight police security. BMP Chief Engineer Sathyanarayana said notices had been served on more than 100 buildings for violating zoning laws or other regulations. Action would be taken against all such buildings over the next few days. Several groups of residents had complained that large-scale commercial use of premises in a residential zone had led to overcrowding of the streets and posed a traffic hazard, besides disturbing peace in the area. Saturday's demolitions included more than 20 buildings or their extensions.