Illegal structures must go: court

Illegal structures must go: court

The Hindu

BMP asked to continue drive against building violations in Koramangala

# Petitioners have listed 87 structures built in violation of the norms
# BMP counsel files action taken report; seeks time to complete survey

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Monday observed that "building violations must go" and asked the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) to continue with the drive to remove illegal and unauthorised constructions in Koramangala in Bangalore.

The court was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) petition by some residents of Koramangala highlighting the violation of building norms and illegal change in land use. The petitioners had listed 87 buildings which they said had been built in violation of the norms.

A Division Bench, comprising the Chief Justice Nauvdip Kumar Sodhi and Justice N. Kumar, which is hearing the petition, had directed the BMP to survey all the buildings and take remedial action.

When the matter came up, the BMP counsel, K.N. Putte Gowda, said an action taken report on the buildings built in violation of the norms along with an affidavit by the BMP Commissioner had been filed. He sought time to complete the survey and said portions of four buildings built in deviation of the norms were demolished on Saturday.

When counsel for the petitioners claimed that the BMP was picking and choosing the buildings to demolish, the Bench said it would not allow that to happen and asked the BMP to take action in accordance with the law. It asked the petitioners to file an affidavit naming the buildings which had not been demolished. In its order, the Bench said that the BMP Commissioner has filed a status report and the action taken report. It said the court has been informed that apart from 100 buildings (named by the petitioners in the petition), 188 other buildings have been surveyed and action is being taken against those built in violation of the building norms, land use and zonal regulations. The Bench said the BMP needed time to complete the entire process of inspecting the property in Koramangala. It adjourned the case to November 15.

Undertaking

The Bench took note of an undertaking given by Syeda Sarah Nasir to demolish the unauthorised portion on her premises in Koramangala.

Syeda had petitioned the High Court against the BMP notice asking her to demolish the building saying that it was illegal and arbitrary. Besides, the BMP had not given her adequate time to reply.

In its statement of objections, the BMP said the petition was not sustainable and that she had encroached upon the setback area. It said the violation was more than 93 per cent and it had the power to regularise violations up to five per cent only. When the matter came up, Syeda's counsel handed over a letter to the court seeking time to demolish the illegal structures.

The Bench gave Syeda time till December 7 to remove the illegal structures and bring the building in accordance with the sanctioned plan.

It also asked the BMP engineer Koramangala sub-division to inspect the building after the demolition and submit a report. It adjourned the case to December 15.

Writ petitions

The Bench also disposed of three writ petitions by tenants challenging the BMP notice to them. It noted that the building had been constructed in violation of building norms.

The owner, it said, had constructed shops. Pointing out that there was nothing on record to prove that the area had been demarked as commercial, the Bench dismissed the petitions and said it found no fault with the BMP notice issued to the tenants under Section 321 of the Karnataka Municipal Commission (KMC) Act.

The Bench posted for Tuesday three other petitions by residents of Koramangala after their counsel said he needed time to consult his clients and file an affidavit undertaking to remove the deviations.