BBMP to stop ITPL-Varthur Kodi link road road construction

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Friday informed the High Court of Karnataka that it would not proceed with the construction of the 80-feet road that would connect Varthur Kodi Road to ITPL Main Road.

The BBMP responded to a petition seeking action to remove encroachments on the Pattandur Agrahara Lake in Kadugodi, Whitefield in East Bengaluru.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari was hearing the public interest litigation filed by the Whitefield Rising Trust.

The trust has moved the court seeking directions to remove the encroachments and safeguard the lake by fencing it on Survey 54, in Pattandur Agrahara and revive and develop the waterbody in the public interest.

The BBMP also informed the court that it was awaiting clarity about the status of the challenged property as a lake or private land from the authorities concerned.

The petitioner has challenged the impugned notification issued by the BBMP on 24 April 2017, under Section 14 B of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act 1961 and Rule 3 of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Benefit of Development Rights) Rules 2016 seeking to acquire various parcels of the land for the formation of a road.

According to the petitioner, the BBMP is constructing an 80-feet road connecting Varthur Kodi Road to ITPL Main Road. The petitioner said that the road runs directly through the green belt/ buffer zone of the Pattandur Agrahara Lake.

The Bangalore Development Authority, which is also a respondent in the petition, informed the court that it had already started the process of fencing of the lake, but was seeking more funds to continue the work.