The Karnataka high court has issued a series of guidelines to be put in place and followed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to prevent unauthorised constructions.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued them after coming across a case wherein a resident of Muruguesh Palya complained about unauthorized construction encroaching upon a public road.The judge noted that though an office note dated July 27, 2023 mentions corrective measures in relation to unauthorized constructions, there are no steps indicated to prevent them.
As per the guidelines, before granting any plan sanction when an application is submitted, BBMP should secure the contact details of the applicant, architect and supervisor of the construction, including postal address (both residential and official), mobile number, e-mail ID, WhatsApp number, Telegram number, etc.
“Once the plan is sanctioned, periodical inspection is to be conducted once in 30 days by the ward officer/engineer and a report should be filed to ascertain if the construction is as per the plan sanctioned…” the judge said.
Justice Govindaraj said in the event of any violation, notice should be issued immediately to the owner/builder or the person who obtained the plan sanction. The notice should notify the deviation and ask the owner/builder to remove it in terms of Section 248 of BBMP Act, 2020.
The guidelines suggest that the BWSSB and Bescom database be integrated with that of BBMP to enable proper verification process.