BMP fails to check illegal structures

BMP fails to check illegal structures
Vijay Times

HAS the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) succeeded in keeping a tab on cases of building plan violation and putting an end to illegal constructions in the City? The answer is a big No.

The BMP has failed miserably in keeping a tab on the spate of illegal constructions in the City. If one takes into account the number of illegal constructions in the City, one will realis that there are several more Koramangala episodes waiting to happen.

The Bangalore Development Authoritys (BDA) frequent demolition drives stand testimony to the fact that there are several illegal structures in and around the City.

COMPLAINTS GALORE

Going by the number of complaints that the citizen service centre in the BMP head office receives on building violation and illegal buildings, it would be hard to deny the allegation that the BMP Engineering Section has not been performing its role to perfection.

It may be recalled that the High Court had rapped the BMP for allowing rampant illegal constructions to crop up and had ordered the civic body to demolish such structures in Koramangala.

However, despite the High Courts direction to demolish such structures, the BMP has failed to undertake the demolition drive.

According to a senior official in the BMP, the BMP Citizen Service Centre has been receiving over 70 complaints every week in this regard.

The complaints are being forwarded to the officials concerned to ascertain whether the complaints are genuine.

STOP ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Another BMP official, on condition of anonymity, said,"Any kind of construction activity in the City cannot go unnoticed by the ward engineer or assistant engineer or health inspector." He alleged that officials often connived with persons, who wanted to build structures without going through the required procedures.

"If the BMP does not put an end to this kind of practice, the entire City will become replicas of Koramangala, where several illegal structures have cropped up," he noted.

BUILDING PLAN MUST

According to the Karnataka Municipal Corporation(KMC) Act, it is mandatory on the part of any individual or organisation to first obtain a building plan.

The builder has to build the structure as per the specifications in the approved building plan, failing which it will be considered illegal or a deviated portion.

The KMC Act also empowers the BMP authorities to compound the violation of buildings only by five per cent.

Interestingly, a BMP joint director (Town Planning), while responding to a complaint lodged by a citizen, has given an endorsement stating that the owner had not obtained a building plan.

All these point to just one thing. It is high time that the BMP puts an end to illegal constructions.