Rampant commercialisation a violation of ppl's rights

Participants at the event. 

Unbridled commercialisation of residential areas aided by corrupt officials has violated the basic rights of the people, said Swarna Venkataraman, member of I Change Indiranagar on Saturday.

According to her, Article 21 of the Constitution protects the life and liberty of citizens. But it has been violated in Indiranagar, Koramangala and HSR Layout, which were planned as residential areas.

She bought a plot in a residential layout developed by the BDA. However, the government violated its own rules by allowing commercial activities that disturbed the peace, she said at the DH-PV event.

“Especially in areas like Indiranagar, illegal commercial establishments have made the residents prisoners in their homes,” Venkataraman said. She explained zoning will be helpful to allow equitable growth, safeguard the public interest and avoids conflict in the neighbourhood.

Venkataraman also said the BBMP has every right to bring down commercial establishments that don’t have a licence, without giving prior notice.

“We admit that there would have been lapses from the owners too, but I would ask why didn’t the BBMP stop those residents. If they had stopped this initially, then this wouldn’t have grown so big and a day to address the issue wouldn’t have arrived,’ she added.

Giving details of action taken by the BBMP, officials said they are acting on it and following the High Court’s order, which directed hearing the traders too. Manoranjan Hegde, Chief Health Officer, BBMP, said: “Commercial establishments were 58,000 in 2014-15, but today it has been reduced to 41,000 after action by BBMP. We have a procedure to follow. From January 2019, we have closed more than 400 commercial establishments.”

Hegde highlighted there are instances where the owner rents out the property to a commercial entity for an exorbitant rate. “If we cancel the license of one establishment, the same resident will approach with a different proposal,” he added.

Civic evangelist V Ravichandar blamed the concept of mutation corridors in the Revised Master Plan 2015, which was the reason for mushrooming commercial establishments in residential areas. “The mutation corridor gave rampant permissions to commercial establishments in residential areas. However, earlier, the commercial establishments were asked to get multiple permissions,” he said.

Taking up the issue of ‘Commercialisation of Residential Areas’, the DH-PV and Citizen for Civic Amenities Forum had invited Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister, G Parameshwara and the BBMP Commissioner, N Manjunath Prasad. However, the invitees, citing personal commitments, skipped the event on Saturday.