BBMP issues notice to IISc over ‘illegal’ building on CV Raman Road

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued several notices to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) over the construction of a building which could potentially impede future road-widening activities on CV Raman Road.

BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said that the latest notice was issued late last week owing to the premier science research institution’s continued intransigence over the matter. According to BBMP officials, the institute has not responded adequately over the issue since it was told about the matter in early December 2020.

In its latest notice, the BBMP said that under section 299 of the Karnataka Municipality Corporation Act, 1976, “if any person intends to construct or reconstruct a building, he shall send to the commissioner an application in writing for permission to execute the work together with a site plan of the land, elevation and sections of the building, a specification of the work and such other documents as may be prescribed.”

Prasad told DH that the BBMP “believes the building to be an illegal structure as no building plans have been sanctioned as per the KMC Act”. Officials flagged the issue during Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan’s review of works on February 19, and he directed Prasad to serve notice yet another time.

“The BBMP has already issued a notice but work is still going on. I will personally serve the notice,” Prasad said at the meeting.

According to minutes of a virtual meeting held between BBMP officials and IISc administrators on December 16, 2020 — a copy of which has been accessed by DH — the building is located next to the institute’s post office. As per the minutes, IISc administrators told the BBMP that no permission is required to construct the building. The IISc referred to an order dated February 10, 1966, for its support.

The BBMP, however, said that the institute appeared not to be aware that under the KMC Act building bye-laws and zoning
regulations, building licensing is not exempt, even if the land belongs to the central or state government.

Furthermore, Dr B G Raghavendra Prasad, Joint Director of Town Planning (South), BBMP, reminded the IISc during the virtual meeting that the land in question, from the Sadashivanagar police station up to the CV Raman Junction, is earmarked in the Revised Master Plan 2015 as 45 metres and that the existing width of the road is only 25 metres. “Further, 20 metres on either side of the road is necessary for road-widening portion as per RMP 2015,” Dr Prasad said.

IISc officials did not respond to repeated DH requests for clarity by the time of publication.

Earlier notice

In an earlier notice issued to the IISc on December 7, 2020, the BBMP noted that it had already asked the IISc to give them the building plan, but noted that “till date, no plans have been provided”.

“The road where they are constructing will be widened under the city development plan 2015. The BBMP had informed the IISc a number of times about this, but they are still going ahead with the construction of the building,” the Palike noted in its December notice.

“In the event, the municipality takes up the road-widening work and if the building is obstructing the plan, they will demolish without any notice. IISc will not be eligible for any compensation,” the notice added.