The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bangalore residents come out against ‘Sakrama’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 12, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Bangalore residents come out against ‘Sakrama’

Staff Reporter

Penalty fixed for regularisation of unauthorised constructions is too high, they say

BANGALORE: Condemning the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) decision to regularise unauthorised constructions in the city by levying a high penalty, members of 10 residents’ welfare associations of Ramamurthynagar took out a protest rally on Sunday.

The association members, under the aegis of Lok Paritran, shouted slogans against the civic body and demanded that the amendment be withdrawn as, according to them, it was only in the interest of the politicians and not the common man.

“The scheme (Sakrama) hides more than it reveals besides being unfair and inadequate. The one-time penalty which runs into lakhs of rupees for a small house in a revenue layout is high and will put the residents into financial trouble if enforced,” B.T. Naganna, president of Lok Paritran said. The protestors demanded that the December 15 deadline should be extended to March 31. “The scheme should cover every building completed till this date. Thereafter, no violations should be permitted and such portions be unconditionally demolished. The scheme is silent on this point,” Mr. Naganna said.

The officials who had allowed such a situation to arise must also be penalised. If any official is found to have allowed such violations after the deadline, he should be jailed and fined.

The residents wanted the BBMP to regularise all buildings irrespective of the violation percentage as it would help reduce corruption. The scheme will only increase corruption and exploitation of the common man, he said.

There should also be an option to pay in instalments, he said. According to a memorandum prepared by the residents’ welfare organisations, the scheme is silent about houses that exceed the maximum allowed violation of 50 per cent.

“An analysis of the existing layouts revealed that a majority of independent houses and almost every single apartment block on a big site is violating the building by-laws by more than 100 per cent and some probably as much as by 500 per cent. Technically, every single such building will need to have a major portion of it demolished to bring it within the permissible limits. While this is the best option, it is not practical,” the memorandum stated.

Members of residents’ welfare associations of Ramamurthynagar, Chaitanya Layout, Vijnanapura, Akshaya Nagar, Buvaneshwari Nagar, Pai Layout, R.R. Layout, Dooravaninagar, Sir M. Visveswaraya Layout and Hoysalanagar participated in the rally.

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