Asianet NewsableAsianet Newsable

Bengaluru unites to tell Karnataka govt 'Hosa Zoning Beda'

  • Zoning laws in the city are tampering with the safety of the residents and are also tampering with traffic.
  • Various citizens' forum launched a protest against the laws and filed a PIL in court against them.
  • Following this, the Bangalore Development Authority were forced to make amendments in the planning to suit the convenience of the residents.
Bengaluru Zoning laws tamper with citizen safety draws ire

The revised zoning laws and the existing ones too have drawn the ire of the residents of Bengaluru. Citing safety issues and inconvenience in residential areas, many have taken to the road to protest against the zoning laws. 'Hosa Zoning Beda' and 'Namma Ooru Maara bedi' are now the new buzz words against the Common Zoning Regulations.

The organisation Citizens for Bengaluru have already kickstarted their campaign 'Call your MLA', following which people have started calling their MLAs since Thursday night, conveying that the new zoning laws are not in favour of the masses. They requested the MLAs to do their bit in taking the draft back. As the next step, the citizens will be heading to the Office of the Director of Town and Country Planning at M.S Building to file their complaints in person. The campaign coordinator of Citizens for Bengaluru, Srinivas Alavalli, speaking to Deccan Chronicle said, "We are objecting the new zonal regulations as it opens doors to regularise illegal constructions and allow commercial entities even in narrow streets that are primarily residential."

He further added that people want a comprehensive planning for the city, which would consider the interests of the citizens, the small-vendors and the local traders. Whereas the new draft is likely to make every nook and corner of the city a busy commercial hub like Shivajinagar. The Convener of United Bengaluru, Suresh N.R said, "We will officially present a letter to the Office of the Director of Town and Country Planning. If we are not receiving any positive reply, we do not mind to drag the issue to courts."

There are more to the challenges. Most of the regulations are only in paper and are not followed religiously. For instance, it has been instructed that all commercial complexes must have their cellars reserved for parking. However, it is hardly followed. In fact, most of the people are forced to park their vehicles on road, which increases chaos and traffic issues. 

Incidentally, the Government of Karnataka had approved Bangalore's Revised Master Plan 2015, which allowed the extreme commercialisation of even residential areas.  

An effort worthwhile

The efforts of citizens to regularise their demands on the zoning laws did not prove futile. According to Scroll.in, in response to a PIL signed by the residents of Bengaluru, the Bangalore Development Authority were forced to changed their zoning laws. The lawyer who represented the people said, "This is an important step towards recognising the rights of citizens to a planned city, taking into account their privacy, comfort and life choices." 

Among the set of amendments that now follow the new development include:

  • No commercial activity will be allowed on roads that are narrower than 40 feet.
  • Even if the roads are wider than that, limited number of ancillary commercial establishments will be permitted.

This might come as a respite to the residents of heavily commercialised areas like Indiranagar and Kormangala, which has off late, seen a boom in commercialization even on roads that are narrower than 20 feet.Residents have another reason to rejoice. They say that the victory has given power to the residents and the development authority has started taking them seriously, which is also expected to reflect on the new plan that is scheduled to be announced soon. 
 

Follow Us:
Download App:
  • android
  • ios