Buildings that deviate up to 15% from the sanctioned plan are likely to be regularised.
The Urban Development Department is said to have okayed a proposal made in this regard by the BBMP but a formal order is still awaited. Rakesh Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, UDD, reportedly gave his consent to the proposal at a recent meeting, a source said.
The civic body hopes that increasing the present deviation limit of 5% would bring it additional revenue because building plan violations are “very common” across Bengaluru. It’s, however, unclear how much building owners will be asked to pay as a penalty to get the plan deviation regularised.
Some resident welfare associations are okay with up to 15% deviations as long as the BBMP does not tolerate or heavily penalise violations beyond 15%.
“There are buildings that have up to 80% deviations but the BBMP has not acted against them despite our complaints,” a resident of Langford Town said. “The authorities should not be lenient towards setback violations.”
Sandeep Anirudhan, of Namma Whitefield citizens’ collective, alleged that the BBMP was “turning Bengaluru into a shantytown”.
“Instead of streamlining enforcement, the BBMP is coming up with rules that normalise violations. Buildings are spilling onto the streets. Elite neighbourhoods are slowly becoming slums. What quality of life can we expect in the city if all kinds of building violations are normalised?” he asked.
The government, Anirudhan said, should first come up with rules that penalise officers who allow illegal construction.
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Published 05 January 2022, 18:37 IST