The Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) has registered five suo motu FIRs against property owners in Mahadevapura on charges of encroaching storm-water drains. Another 110 violations are under investigation, task force officials have said.
After several parts of the city were flooded following the rain on Independence Day, the BMTF started a ground survey to identify properties that had encroached ‘raja kaluves’.
“The survey is going on; further inspections will be carried out this week. Based on the investigation, more FIRs may be lodged,” said Additional Director-General of Police Prashant Kumar Thakur, who heads the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force.
Mr. Thakur said the areas under investigation include HAL Road, Marathahalli, Bellandur, Shantinagar, Koramangala and a few areas in north Bengaluru.
“When the team superimposed village map and the current Google Map, and investigated with local residents, many areas were found to have encroachments,” said BMTF Superintendent of Police Lakshmi Ganesh.
Mr. Thakur said while the task force had filed suo motu FIRs, further investigation was needed to identify the cause for flooding.
“There could be many reasons, one that such high rainfall was not anticipated, or that drains in the area had not been dredged and had got blocked. The third possible reason could be encroachment of raja kaluves, in which case, urban local bodies have to step in to rectify the situation,” he said.
110 areas
As many as 110 areas are under investigation and once the team has completed its survey they would be able to identify specific violations. “For instance, in HAL area, there could be many layouts and commercial complexes involved,” said Mr. Thakur.
When asked about complaints raised by many residents last year whose houses had been built with permission from civic agencies, he said it was up to the BBMP to take action against officials who had given the green signal for such projects.