A school owned by Shantinagar MLA and senior Congress leader N A Haris has encroached a rajakaluve and a 10-gunta land belonging to the BBMP in Mahadevapura.
On Tuesday, senior BBMP officials visited the school to take over a portion of the building in their ongoing demolition drive to clear encroachments blocking the flow of water.
The civic body said a rajakaluve passes through the premises.
Malathi, BBMP’s Executive Engineer (SWD) for Mahadevapura, said: “The compound wall itself is not encroaching the drain, so it won’t be demolished. The 2.5-metre-wide drain used to exist within the compound wall, along its length of 150m.”
Officials said the school management was free to demolish the compound wall later if they found it inconvenient to have the drain inside the premises. Malathi said buffer zone rules don’t apply here since the channel was a small connecting drain. So, the compound wall or areas within the premises would not be affected.
She said the action was based on the revenue department’s survey as well as maps. Officials said they have been taking over private land in adjoining plots to recreate the canal.
Manager of the academy Ramesh N said the BBMP arrived without any prior notice. “There is no important drain here. When we questioned officials, they entered the premises with police protection. We have been targeted,” he said.
In his response, MLA Haris said the revised master plan does not show a rajakaluve in the school premises. “We had bought the property around 25 years ago. There was no rajakaluve. We are shocked by the BBMP’s claims. Even if they build a rajakaluve in the school premises, I do not know where it will be connected as there are no drains nearby,” he said.
The BBMP could have conducted a joint survey, Haris added. “We do not have any objections. We will support them if the drain really exists,” he said.
Demolition drive at 18 places
The BBMP on Tuesday continued the demolition drive at 18 places in Mahadevapura and Yelahanka. Other zones are yet to take up the exercise.
During the drive, commercial buildings, compound walls, playgrounds, and security cabins were razed. The BBMP also removed the upper slab cover of the drains in a few places. At Yelahanka, a compound wall built by the NCBS Institute was razed as it was blocking the rajakaluve.
Some places where bulldozers made noise
DivyaSree 77 East
RMZ EcoSpace
Gopalan International School
Nalapad Academy
TZED Apartment approach road
Puravankara Builders' house compound wall
AECS Layout
Spice Garden
Basavanagara
Shantinikethan Layout
Prestige properties on Borewell Road
Near DNA Apartments