The BBMP may have launched a drive to remove encroachments from lakes and stormwater drains in Bengaluru in the wake of last week’s flooding but it may not do anything against tech parks, some of which are said to be blocking the flow of floodwater.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai last week blamed illegal constructions on lakes and stormwater drains for the floods along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) in southeastern Bengaluru. Local BJP leader N R Ramesh went a step further, accusing IT firms of being the major reason. “Of the 79 tech parks in the city, 63 are on ORR. Most of the flooded areas were either densely populated with tech parks or apartment complexes. Isn’t it evident that they are the main encroachers,” he had said.
A senior BBMP official agreed. Things are so bad, he said, that drains have narrowed down to less than 20% of their original width in many places, reducing their water-carrying capacity and causing waterlogging on roads.
However, the civic body has done little to identify, let alone remove, these encroachments and has chosen to go after the proverbial small fish.
The BBMP has identified 696 encroachments, mostly the evident ones. It removed 21,963.82 square feet of encroachments at 34 places on the first nine days of this month, mostly compound walls or sheds built on vacant lands. Fourteen of these places are located in the Mahadevapura zone, which consists of areas in the IT corridor.
Asked why no action has been taken against big players, officials said it was an uphill battle and hinted at political pressure. “We have only identified encroachments which are evident. Considering the amount of water that was overflowing on ORR, we are certain there are many more small drains that are encroached upon inside tech parks and IT firms. But without village maps and inspections by revenue officials, it is impossible to pinpoint them,” a senior BBMP official said on condition of anonymity.
Another senior official, also speaking anonymously, said surveying and identifying encroachments was a tedious process as the places had to be cross-verified with maps and marked accurately. Political pressure is another factor.
“We all know that most IT companies only rent office space in tech parks that are owned by influential people. Initiating action in such cases is not easy,” the official admitted.
BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath vowed a crackdown on all encroachments, irrespective of the building. “There might be tech companies, non-tech companies, individual houses, apartment complexes and many other buildings that have encroached upon the stormwater drains. Irrespective of the type of building, all encroachments will be cleared,” he told DH.
He added that the civic body was first removing critical encroachments.
“It is important that we remove encroachments from the lower level to the upper level to prevent any mishaps during the process of removal. Eventually, all the encroachments will be removed,” he asserted.