BMP to survey over 2000 buildings

BMP to survey over 2000 buildings
Vijay Times

The Karnataka High Courts directive on the Koramangala issue is seeing the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) in top gear, with over 2,000 buildings in Koramangala being surveyed for violations.

The BMP is carrying out a detailed survey of 4,000 buildings, including residential structures and commercial properties in Koramangala. A team of 20 engineers from the BMP are working to survey the entire locality and pinpoint violations in the building norms and in the illegal change in the land use. Whenever the BMP is coming across the violations, it is issuing preliminary notices (PO) to both the owners and tenants of such properties.

The BMP says that it has filed caveats before the appellate tribunal and other courts. It says the violations are removed after following the procedures laid down in the KMC Act. It says that the four buildings which were demolished on June 29 and June 30 had the highest deviations ranging from 121.6 per cent to 53.14 per cent. All these buildings violated the zoning regulations and building byelaws.

The BMP has also readied an action taken report on the Koramangala violations. The report in tabular form lists the survey number of the sites, the date of issue of PO and CO, the percentage of deviations and remarks on the action taken or pending.

SURVEY

The BMP has so far physically surveyed 1,793 properties apart from the 457 properties already inspected. In all, till July 1, 2006, it has surveyed 2,250 properties and issued POs under Section 321 (1) and (2) of the Karnataka Municipal Council (KMC) Act to owners/ tenants of 80 buildings.

Of the 2,250 buildings surveyed so far, 126 are in Koramangala 1st Block, 258 in 3rd Block, 203 in 4th Block, 202 in 5th Block, 914 in 6th Block, 441 in 7th Block and 106 in the 8th Block.

The survey reports of the 80 buildings(which have received POs), a majority of which have violations, have been prepared. It says that the owners of many buildings have approached the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal and obtained stay of further proceedings.

On the issue of hotels in residential areas, it says three hotels have managed to obtain a stay from the appellate tribunal on further proceedings. One shop selling sweets has also obtained stay. BBaanngga allo or re e: : The owner of a parking lot in a building has the right to park either a two wheeler or a four wheeler and the society cannot restrict the same.

This ruling was given by the Karnataka High Court while hearing a case in which a dispute arose over the vehicle to be parked on the parking slot.

Justice K.L. Manjunath passed these orders on a regular first appeal (RFA) by Macmillan India Limited. The company had contested the claim of a building association, Raheja Chamber Office Space Owners Association asking it to remove a partition it had put up adjacent to two apartments it had bought in the building.

Justice Manjunath while observing that no restriction could be imposed on the type of vehicle to be parked however added that haphazard manner of parking vehicles could be regulated by the society. The court said the vehicles in such reserved lots must be parked in such a manner that it should not obstruct the parking of other vehicles in the building.

The company had bought three flats and secured three parking lots in the basement. While the flats were being used as office, it permitted its employees to park their two-wheelers in the basement in its car park. The association said only cars (four-wheelers) could be parked in the car park and not two-wheelers.