BBMP targeting poor, sparing big builders, says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused the BBMP administration of favouring big builders and targeting the poor while removing encroachments on stormwater drains.

A BJP delegation, led by MLAs R Ashok and S Suresh Kumar, called on BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad and said layouts formed on tank beds by the BDA have been ignored while small houses of poor people were razed.

He sought to know how the state government, which collected stamp duty, and the BDA, BBMP and other civic agencies, which gave their approval to layouts by issuing khathas and building plans, declared these properties illegal overnight.

Ashok reminded the commissioner that during the BJP rule in the state, a demolition drive was carried out without any fuss. The party leaders demanded that compensation be given to property losers in the form of alternative sites.

Prasad said the drive is based on a series of directions by the Supreme Court, High Court and the recent National Green Tribunal (NGT) order.

“The High Court, in its order regarding removing encroachments on stormwater drains, did not fix any deadline. Instead, it said the encroachment removal is a continuous process,” said Prasad. The commissioner clarified that removal of stormwater drain encroachments is based on village maps. This is because the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) mentions that if the topographical details mentioned in the village maps are missing in the master plan, then the village maps should be referred to.