'As long as rules are followed, she is the owner'

Upalokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi speaks to Deccan Herald about the
Sanjaynagar 80 feet road case and the state of affairs of BBMP

Excerpts:

The road widening work over the stretch of 132 metres between M S Ramaiah Hospital Junction and Sanjaynagar Main Road seems to be happening completely without adherence to rules. What are your findings after the matter was brought before you through Shanti Ganesh?

When the matter came before me, initially BBMP claimed that the property was required for road widening. When it was found that there was no notification issued, I directed the BBMP to allow her to restore the house.

The BBMP suffered a major setback in the wake of the High Court also terming the acquisition as illegal. Unless rules are followed, she is the owner and she has every right to live there. BBMP’s efforts to somehow acquire her building continued when the council passed a resolution in 2014, after the complaint was registered with me, based on the report submitted by the BBMP commissioner in 2013.

Then, she seriously disputed the road alignment process and her concerns turned out to be true. The road alignment was drawn as per the whims and fancies of BBMP officials. In the process, some properties escaped the acquisition. I have ordered for a joint survey of the stretch and to identify the width of the road from the middle of the existing road.

There are a number of complaints against the BBMP officials. How do you rate BBMP’s performance?
Every day, I receive complaints against BBMP officials. Building bylaw violations are the most common. Town Planning Department and other engineers responsible for granting permissions are the ones to be blamed. The officials do not grant permission to buildings based on the actual width of the road. This has led to floor area ratio mismanagement and the whole city is being affected. On the other hand, BBMP is losing its revenue from all sides. I have observed that BBMP has lost huge revenue in its advertisement hoardings policy.

The trifurcation of the BBMP is the most debated issue now. Do you think such an effort would revamp the civic agency?
I am not competent to comment on the recent discussion on trifurcation. It is a policy decision. But, Bengaluru has grown so much that it requires strong administration, more manpower and big budget. BBMP has “not constructed” any road in Bengaluru and whatever roads we have are just asphalted. None of the roads in Bengaluru meets the technical specifications.

Political interference is one of the major reasons for the present situation. In many cases, based on politicians’ requests, violations have taken place. Politicians should not interfere in the functioning of the BBMP. It is high time Bengaluru got a good civic agency, may be with a revamp in administration.