Highlights
- BBMP officials at the zonal and ward levels are facing challenges in conducting survey
- Only 1-2 zones submitting figures consistently over past few days
Mahadevapura zone which houses the tech corridor of Whitefield and many prominent localities has the highest number of unauthorised buildings in the city. As per a survey by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP), Mahadevapura zone tops the list with 528 unauthorised buildings identified, followed by East Zone with 446 and Dasarahalli Zone with 348.
West and City Zones have reported an equal number of 328 illegal constructions each. On the other hand, Bommanahalli Zone has 275 unauthorised structures, while Yelahanka Zone has reported 167.
The South Zone, despite having a large number of wards, has recorded the lowest figure with only 142 illegal buildings identified.
In total, the BBMP survey has identified 2,562 illegal constructions across the city, highlighting the widespread nature of the issue and the varying levels of enforcement in different zones.
Sources said that BBMP officials at the zonal and ward levels were facing challenges in conducting a survey of unauthorised constructions across the city. Despite the directive to identify all unauthorised buildings within a week following the collapse of an illegal structure in Babusapalya, which claimed the lives of nine workers last month, only 2,500 buildings have been identified so far.
The BBMP officially commenced the survey on October 28, and two weeks into the process, only 2,562 unauthorised constructions have been identified across the city’s eight zones.
Reports suggest that local political pressures and past compromises by officials to permit illegal constructions have left them in a quandary. Despite instructions to submit daily survey data from each zone to the central office, only one or two zones have been consistently reporting figures over the past two days. Moreover, data submitted by the remaining zones often appear to be vague, leaving the central office unsure about the actual progress of the survey.
It may be noted that during their separate visits to the Babusapalya collapse site, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had instructed that stringent action would be taken against officials, including zonal commissioners and engineers, if illegal constructions continued. They stressed that no external influence should hinder the survey process and demanded a report within a week.
Following this, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath had issued orders in line with these instructions. However, two weeks later, the survey remains incomplete, and there has been little adherence to the directives at the local level. Activists allege that delay in completing the survey raises serious concerns about the commitment of civic officials to tackle the issue of illegal constructions in Bengaluru.
