BENGALURU: Following a direction from the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, during the infrastructure review meeting, to intensify the anti-encroachment drive, the BBMP swung into anti-encroachment drive on Thursday and recovered 1,250 metres of land.
The BBMP has chalked out a plan to complete the drive by February to ensure that the city does not get flooded during the next monsoon.
BBMP chief engineer, Storm Water Drains, Sidde Gowda said that during an early morning drive 2.28 guntas of encroached land, worth Rs 4 crore, was recovered. It included 12 vacant sites at the Attur (Ward number 3) at the Yelahanka zone. Concrete drain will be built for free flow of water, he said.
The land was recovered from Sy. No. 49 of Shidlagunte and eight guntas of land at Doddabettahalli, belonging to a private builder, by razing down sheds and compound walls.
The BBMP currently has 14 surveyors and following the Chief Minister’s direction 15 more will be deputed to Palike from Bengaluru and other districts to complete survey on storm water drains and provide an encroachment report. The Joint Director Land Records has confirmed about sending 15 surveyors to the BBMP, he said.
All the 29 surveyors will be deployed in all the eight zones under BBMP’s jurisdiction. After they provide the report, demolition will be carried out in a time-bound manner. As of now the BBMP will deal with the drain encroachment and not the buffer zone, he said. They will be taken up after an order from the state government, he added. Yelahanka zone alone has 239 properties that need to be recovered, including vacant sites and multiple units. Assistance from the local police and Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force will be taken to deal with any law and order situation during demolitions. After the surveyors mark encroachments, the residents will be provided an opportunity to raze them down or trim the extent of encroachments on their own, failing which the BBMP will take up demolition and recover the demolition cost, Gowda added.
