Offices turn into malls!

Offices turn into malls!
Land Use Changed Overnight; Cops Ask BMP To Take Action
The Times of India

Bangalore: Who let the malls?

Circa 2002-2003, Victoria Hotel near Mayo Hall was demolished and the blueprint for an “office space’’ was shown to the BMP officials for approval.

After approval, plan sanction and occupancy certificate, the land use changed overnight from ‘office space’ to a flamboyant, high-rise shopping mall. Bringing with it the attendant traffic juggernaut, parking problems et al.

The problem has reached such proportions that the traffic police have dashed off a stinker of a letter to the BMP, asking that action be taken on such malls for violation of building plan. The contents of the letter, available with The Times Of India say:

“It is learnt that the original building plan of Bangalore Central was only for construction of office complex. If this is the case, Central should not be allowed to be used as a shopping centre. BMP should take necessary action against Bangalore Central for violation of building plan.’’

This has been the signature tune of the traffic police for months now, grappling with the unprecedented traffic on Magrath Road thanks to two major shopping malls, Bangalore Central and Garuda Mall. Ironically, Garuda Mall, a joint venture of BMP and the developer, was conceived as a panacea for parking ills plaguing the area but the mall has only aggravated the traffic scenario.

Police officials, peeved at the way norms have been flouted, say that the trade licence should be revoked. “Particularly in central business district areas, if a sanction has been obtained for office space, it should adhere to the plan. How can we have a mega-mall, multiplex and expect that traffic will be decongested simply because there are floors for parking?’’ asks a senior police official.

However, the builders and promoters of Garuda Mall maintain that their objective is to de-congest traffic. “Magrath Road is blocked because of drain works. The pressure is on Commissariat Road and therefore it is a challenge for the police to manage traffic on week-ends. We have a 1000-car park facility. We have always maintained that we are a commercial-cum-parking complex,’’ explains Uday Garudachar, MD, Garuda Mall.

To say nothing of a 600-seater multiplex which will eat up all the parking space.

BMP officials, however, rely on standard procedure. Explains BMP engineer-in-chief Rame Gowda: “For every building plan sanction, it goes through a procedure. After scrutinising building plan, we draw up the proceedings and later make recommendations to the plan, if any. For buildings with over three floors, the commissioner plus joint director plus Town Planning would be issuing the final sanction. If there is a violation, we would be levying the compounding fee.’’