For over a decade, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike has been unable to remove encroachments on stormwater drains (SWD) and primary drains on Siddaiah Road.
Among several buildings, the biggest hurdles have been the Shabari Residency - which belongs to a private citizen, Rajan K Batha. And Pai Vaibhav Hotel - which incidentally belongs to the Congress MLA from Chikpet RV Devraj.
BBMP officials have told Asianet Newsable, on condition of anonymity, that public representatives would bring pressure on the BBMP whenever they had tried to clear encroachments earlier.
However, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the state Chief Secretary giving a green signal to remove all encroachments on SWDs, encroachers have started to feel the heat. The BBMP is certainly determined to make the most of the current political climate.
Deepak, a staff member at the Shabari Residency, told Asianet Newsable that the owner was exploring legal options. In another bid to save the building from demolition, Deepak claimed the owner was willing to cede land behind the hotel, in case the BBMP was amenable to shifting the SWD.
"The property was purchased from another proprietor. He (the current owner) was not aware of the encroachment," said Deepak.
On the other hand, perhaps realising that once the BBMP renews its demolition drive the hotel belonging to MLA RV Devraj may suffer the maximum damage, masons have already begun demolishing parts of the building that encroach on drains.
SWD Chief Engineer, Sidde Gowda said, "The owners used to get stay orders from the courts to prevent us from doing our work on such drains. Now, after the deluge, encroachments role in the floods is being finally considered. Our department has been given full powers to apply for caveats in the courts. With this support, we will demolish buildings that have come on natural culverts that connect the four valleys in the city."
"Shabari Residency, Pai Vaibhav and few other buildings have been built on a 33-foot SWD. We have given them a notice and also issued a paper notification, asking owners to clear the encroachment voluntarily. With this warning, a few owners have been demolishing the encroachments themselves. In the next step, we will take land surveyors from the revenue department. Once the mark out the drains, we will demolish any encroachments left. " Gowda added.
