BENGALURU: With the deadline to close down illegal commercial establishments in residential areas having ended in December, BBMP has said it was collecting data on such shops to issue individual notices.
On being asked whether it was a token gesture to avoid High court’s censure, as it had earlier asked BBMP to act against illegal commercial establishments, Vijayan Menon, member of Citizen's Action Forum, who has been fighting against such illegal units since 2007, said "I do not think so. BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad is very firm on curbing this menace."
He, however, conceded that BBMP was going slow on this issue. Menon said, “If BBMP wishes it can go ahead at a faster pace. BBMP officials should be more proactive."
Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO of Namma Bengaluru Foundation, said "Tackling illegal commercial establishments operating in residential areas is like pushing a big elephant. It has to be done together by the government and citizens. While the citizens can help by pushing the elephant, a major push should be from the government's side."
A systematic and continuous effort is needed from the government in getting the illegal establishments move out of residential areas, he added.
Pabbisetty demanded that the civic body should function in a more transparent manner. "If trade licences to these units, operating in residential areas, were not given in the first place, it would not have become such a big menace," he said.
When asked on the exact number of illegal units, both Menon and Pabbisetty admitted that they did not know, but said they were in thousands.
