Residents to crowdsource money for PIL plea against illegal commercial establishments

Irked by the inaction of authorities concerned over the blatant violation of zonal regulations making way for illegal commercial establishments such as bars, pubs and microbreweries, a federation of Residents’ Welfare Association (RWAs) in Indiranagar has decided to crowd source money to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court of Karnataka.

They have asked residents to contribute what they can to build a corpus that would help them file a petition in the court. The federation, in a letter to the residents, said they had resorted to this as pleas and petitions to enforcement agencies had not led to any concrete action. They added that all authorities concerned and elected representatives are aware of the problem but “preferred to protect violators rather than help residents.”

Sneha Nandihal, president, BM Kaval RWA in Indiranagar said, “Indiranagar maybe a happening place for those visiting the locality, but it is hell for residents. Our sewerages are overflowing; there are traffic jams; and loud music plays from the pubs late at night making our lives difficult,” she said, and added that they had started receiving contributions from residents.

“The petition, if successful, will make a substantial difference to Indiranagar in reducing the load on civic services, the police and others, ensuring that they can serve us better. Most of all though, it will reduce the stress in our lives: less traffic, less pollution, less harassment, less of everything...,” the letter to the residents of Indiranagar 1st and 2nd Stage, Defence Colony, HAL 2nd and 3rd Stage states

They have asked citizens to make donations through their respective RWAs who will issue receipts to them.