K'taka mulls 5-yr ban on new apartments in Bengaluru

Putting an end to the unbridled growth of Bengaluru and civic problems associated with it, the state government is mulling to enforce a ban on construction of apartments for the next five-years within Bengaluru. Pointing towards rising number of incidents involving builders selling apartments without disclosing the permanent source of water, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said that the state government will soon come out with a rule after discussing the issue in detail with various stakeholders.

Elaborating on the issue, on the sidelines of a meeting with the Urban Development authorities at his home office, Parameshwara said over the years thousands of apartment complexes have been built in and around Bengaluru. “The builders, while marketing and selling the apartments, will not assure buyers on providing basic amenities like providing potable water facility. Reeling under severe shortage, the apartment dwellers go in for water tankers. Due to poor quality water supplied through tankers, several apartment dwellers are diagnosed with allergies and skin ailments. Hence, we are mulling to enforce a ban on building apartments for the next five years. We will soon hold a meeting with all the developers to elicit their opinion before arriving at a decision.

Parameshwara said that during the ban period spanning five-years, Bengaluru is likely to get potable water supply from various sources and the burgeoning water crisis is expected to fizzle out by then. DCM also directed the officials of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to check on all the existing apartments whether they have installed and commissioned Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).