The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Two blocks of EWS quarters collapse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 31, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Two blocks of EWS quarters collapse

By Our Staff Reporter

The debris of 33rd block of the BMP's EWS quarters at Ejipura in Bangalore. The block collapsed on Sunday after heavy rain lashed the city the previous evening. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE, MAY 30. The quarters for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in Ejipura are in the news again. The 14th and 33rd blocks of the quarters, two of those identified as "unfit" for human habitation, collapsed on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

There was no loss of life because the blocks were empty. The BMP had evacuated the residents of seven blocks after the Torsteel Research Foundation conducted a structural viability study and recommended its demolition.

The then Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, directed the BMP, in November, to demolish and reconstruct all the 42 blocks in the quarters, but the BMP is yet to start work.

He inspected the quarters after the 13th "B" block collapsed in November 2003 and had asked the BMP to blacklist the 13 contractors and three engineers who were involved in the construction.

The issue is likely to rock the BMP Council meet on Monday. The BMP Commissioner, M.R. Sreenivasa Murthy, told The Hindu that the BMP was waiting for a nod from the Government.

"The BMP Council has approved the proposal to reconstruct the quarters and we are waiting for Government's nod," he said.

The 7,500 residents of the 1,512 flats in the complex are under constant danger as their roofs can cave in anytime. Planning errors, inferior quality of construction, and lack of maintenance has led to the sorry state of affairs.

After the collapse in November, the BMP had put up the residents in tents and had constructed 232 sheds for individual families. The Commissioner said the BMP had served notices to the residents to vacate the flats.

Once the complex was reconstructed, the new houses would be allotted to the original house owners, he said.

Following the November collapse, the BMP had conducted a revenue survey to identify the original house owners in the complex.

According to the survey, of the 1,512 houses, 1,101 were occupied by tenants; 258 were owner-occupied and 153 houses were vacant.

Sources said the BMP was exploring the possibilities of reconstructing the complex by involving private builders. "The quality of the project can be maintained if it is entrusted to private builders. As the complex is located on four-and-a-half acres of land in a prime locality, a joint venture scheme can work well. The land will be given by the BMP, on which the builder will invest his own money and construct the houses.

The houses will come up in the rear of the building, and the builder will be given the front portion for commercial use.

The rent or lease accruing from the complex can be retained by the builder," the sources added.

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