A PRESS REPORT: BBMP-UNAUTHORISED CONSTRUCTIONS,DEVIATIONS AND VIOLATIONS :
3000 CASES OF DEMOLITION IS PENDING
The increasing number of court cases is hampering the day-to-day functioning and ongoing civil works of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The civic agency is spending `20 lakh a year to fight these cases.
At present, 4,012 cases are pending before various courts, including the City Civil Court, the High Court and the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (KAT).
Most of the cases are related to deviation during construction, unauthorised construction, land acquisition, road widening and property dispute.
Many ongoing and new projects have been affected because of the cases, according to a BBMP official. The cases related to trade licence, advertisement and khata transfer affect revenue generation as well, the official added.
BBMP’s Legal Secretary K D Deshpande told Express that most of these cases are related to deviation during construction and unauthorised construction.
“Some people approach the court after getting notice served from our engineers while some approach the court with the apprehension that the BBMP may take action against them,” he said.
BBMP has a panel of 58 advocates handling cases involving the civic agency.
A senior official said many road widening or footpath projects and ward-level works are getting delayed because of court cases.
“Sometimes, the aggrieved party will appeal to a higher court, if they are not satisfied with the lower court’s judgement. This will delay the projects further,” the official said.
When contacted, BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana said, “In some instances, just because of a petty issue, the work is delayed.”
Explaining one such case, he said for a road widening, if the BBMP needs 12 feet, the owner of the house will be ready to give only 10 feet.
“As lower officials have less powers, they stick to their demand of 12 feet, and the house owner goes to court. When the owner has agreed to give 90 per cent of the land required, BBMP can handle the case through the Lok Adalat”, he detailed.
He said the civic agency can reduce legal expenses if the cases are disposed at Lok Adalat. “The officials have been instructed to identify cases that can be disposed off at Lok Adalats. A circular will be sent to all the eight Zonal Commissioners in this regard”, the Commissioner added.