It's now the turn of Sadashivanagar, RMV Extension

It's now the turn of Sadashivanagar, RMV Extension
The Hindu

BMP survey shows 90 per cent of buildings in these areas have violated norms

# The BMP has completed a survey of 163 buildings in Sadashivanagar and Raja Mahal Vilas Extension
# The violations are mainly in the change of land use from residential to commercial
# Last year, BMP conducted a survey in Koramangala and demolished several illegal structures

BANGALORE: After a detailed survey of Koramangala to identify illegal change in land use and violation of building norms, it is now the turn of Sadashivanagar with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) taking up a survey of buildings that had violated the change in land use.

The BMP has completed a survey of 163 buildings in Sadashivanagar and Raja Mahal Vilas (RMV) Extension and found that more than 90 per cent of them had violations. The violations were mainly in the change of land use from residential to commercial.

Survey

The BMP had taken up the survey following a direction from the High Court which had on January 24, 2006, admitted a petition on the alleged illegal change in the land use in Sadshivanagar.

The Sadshivanagar Residents' Association had filed the petition seeking a direction to the authorities to survey the area for violation of building norms and illegal change in land use. It had furnished a list of 70 properties, which it claimed had violated the change in land use.

The main grievance of the association was that buildings in and around the area meant for residential use were being put to commercial use. Yet, the authorities, including the State Government and the BMP, had not taken any action.

Orderly growth

The association said it had been formed with the aim of promoting orderly growth of Sadashivanagar, Raja Mahal Vilas Extension, Upper Palace Orchards and the areas to the south of T. Chowdiah Road from Cauvery cinema traffic light junction to Bashyam Circle.

It said that there was alarming development though most of the area was reserved as residential under the comprehensive development plan (CDP) of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act were being blatantly violated. It said such violations had led to choking of road space and haphazard parking of vehicles, leading to hardship.

The unchecked development had led to increase in traffic on the arterial roads like T. Chowdiah Road, Bellary Road, C.V. Raman Road and areas around Mehkri Circle, resulting in air and noise pollution.

On its part, the BMP swung into action soon after the petition was filed and it conducted a preliminary survey. The survey included the 70 buildings mentioned by the association.

Violations

In its status report, the BMP says it has found violations in nearly 140 of the 163 buildings surveyed. The report, supervised by the Assistant Executive Engineer, Hebbal sub-division, names the residential buildings which are being used for commercial purposes in ward no. 99.

This is the second such survey conducted by the BMP in Bangalore.

Last year, it had conducted a detailed survey in Koramangala and demolished several illegal structures.