BENGALURU, 24 OCT

Following a meeting with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials, the Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced a slew of measures including connecting lakes to prevent flooding in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference here, he said he has given an array of instructions to the officials in order to avoid flooding in the future. The measures include connecting the lakes, banning construction within 50 feet radius of Raja Kaluve, construction of 300 km of roads along with Raja Kaluve, survey and demolishing unauthorised buildings.

“We have formed a committee that includes Zonal Commissioners, Chief Engineers, and officials managing storm water drains. The committee has been instructed to submit a report within a week,” he said.

“I have instructed officials to prepare a plan to connect lakes in the city to facilitate the flow of water during rains. I have told the officials to ensure only rainwater goes into lakes. We will acquire private lands for the project, if need be, by issuing TDR to the landowners,” he said. 

Shivakumar said that the government is planning to bring amendments to give more powers to Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF), BBMP, and Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) as well. These organisations had such powers before but it was withdrawn during 2020-21. “I have instructed the Home Secretary to bring out an ordinance to stop unauthorised construction in the City which will be discussed in the next Cabinet meeting,” he said.

In response to unauthorised constructions that could endanger lives, Shivakumar ordered the BBMP to identify and demolish such buildings “Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara districts also come under the jurisdiction of BMRDA and BMTF and they have been instructed to stop all unauthorised constructions,” he said.

Regarding street vendors, Shivakumar mentioned a new action plan is underway to prevent vendors from occupying pavements, alongside a survey to identify them. However, he also said that there is a mafia behind this. “We are also studying various models in other cities,” he said. -Salar News