Palike in a bind on razing structures on SWD in Hoysalanagar

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials are a worried lot as half of Hoysalanagar, near KR Puram, is sitting on the stormwater drain (SWD).

For the past five months, the Palike has been planning to demolish these structures with officials chalking out an action plan to raze 60 buildings encroaching upon SWD in Hoysalanagar.

On December 16, BBMP officials decided to take up a demolition drive from December 19 and complete the task before Christmas.

But they suddenly dropped the plan. When contacted, BBMP chief engineer (SWD) Siddegowda said, “We will take a call on the demolitions by Wednesday morning.”

A Palike official said razing the buildings has become a delicate issue as most of the building owners are from lower middle class families.

“This is an unauthorised layout on agricultural land without any approvals. The last time when Palike officials tried to reach the area, they were threatened and chased away by local residents. Officials could not even serve notices to many houses,” the official said.