It seems straight out of the STASI manual from earstwhile East Germany, where folks within families were known to spy on each other. But however weird it seems, BBMP plan to get public/neighbours to check on by-law violations might just as well work. The details of the BBMP plan is in this link
BBMP’s Town Planning additional director R Prasad told DH that the latest move will not only put an end to the existing manual approval but provides for constant monitoring of any plan violation by vigilant citizens
On paper, this seems good because neighbours are at the receiving end of such building violations, where they get badly affected by lack of ventilation or privacy etc. However there are many questions about this approach too:
- How will public know to identify a violation? what are the actual by-laws?
- When is the right time or how early to report a violation?
- Is there a way to do the reporting anonymously to avoid harrasment?
- Will this promote more violations where "I will allow you to violate if you allow me" or "the other house is built that way already, why is mine a violation now?"
One of the methods which can be used to address some of the issues is to use the 'Ward Committee" as a platform. This can be used to educate citizens about what the violations are and how to report etc, The monthly meetings could also be used for workshops on addressing the issues.
The rampant violations in building by-laws have been gowing unabated since last 2-3 decades and this needs to be stemmed from the root asap. It will work only with vigilant citizen participation. Hope we can get some good control with it.
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