HC censures Palike for doing little to check pollution

The High Court has censured the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for not acting on its earlier order to check noise and air pollution in the City.

Hearing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition on Monday, a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy expressed displeasure over the delay by the BBMP in filing a memo on developing at least one footpath in Bengaluru as a model pavement by removing encroachments on it and ensuring smooth traffic on the road.

The counsel for the BBMP submitted that footpaths on Cubbon Road up to Dickenson Road and Race Course Road would be cleared of encroachments and the roads made pollution-free, prompting the bench to remark, “Why don’t you take some other roads? This is like treating a healthy person and neglecting the unhealthy. What is the use of our exercise of hearing the case?”

The bench continued, “The BBMP commissioner came and made too many statements. You have no concern for orders of the court? Or the commissioner’s submissions are just tentative?”

The court also asked the State government about forming a committee to monitor checking pollution. Government counsel R Devdas said steps had been taken to check pollution. According to him, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) used to monitor checking pollution to date but the job has now been given to the department of forest, ecology and environment. He promised to file a detailed status report by the next hearing.

When the counsel for the KSPCB tried to list steps taken by the board to check noise pollution and pointed out that the board had served notices on the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for having few emission testing kits, the bench said, “You may do whatever you want, but we want noise and air pollution in the City reduced.”

‘TenderSURE eating roads’
TenderSURE, the BBMP’s project to develop some roads to international standards, came under severe censure of the High Court during the hearing.

Referring to the St Mark’s Road which is being remodelled under TenderSURE, Justice Ram Mohan Reddy demanded of the BBMP, “Have you visited the St Marks Road? In the name of widening the footpath, you have eaten (up) the road. People are waiting in long queues. There is traffic jam. Has your commissioner gone there?”