Bengaluru lake systems and demolitions

http://praja.in/hi/blog/vmenon/2013/06/03/end-bellandur-rise-concrete#comment-38135

Following are the excerpts (in italics - emphasis added by me - full text may be accessed here) of an article that appeared in the ToI today. I have interspersed my comments (in regular text) between the para's:

BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad admits the Palike has finally woken up.“We have woken up now. But it is better late than never. Nature has given a wake-up call in the form of flooding, and Bengaluru will die if no action taken against encroachments now,“ he said, participating in a panel discussion organized by TOI's sister publication Vijaya Karnataka on Wednesday .

“I don't deny many residents have got cheated and officials from the civic body are involved in wrongdoings for which criminal proceedings are being initiated. To clear confusion among the citizens pertaining to revenue maps and location of storm water drains, we've mapped all 17 lakh properties with the help of GIS, that will be put out in the public domain soon. The sewage network in the city will be superimposed on the map so the citizen know the drains are located. The list of drain encroachers will also be out in the public domain with three days. The urban property ownership records project which will be implemented within a few months, will bring more clarity on property documents and sketches,“ he added.

Shouldn't all of these have been done before the start of the demolition?

- - - Most of the panelists supported the encroachment clearance drive undertaken by the state government, but cautioned the civic body to ensure that proper information on storm water drains and related data be made available in public domain as early as possible.

The BBMP has not even been able to organise a proper on-line property tax collection portal, even with having been over a decade at it (check here). As such, what reliability can one expect to these more complex exercises?

The commissioner heard the opinions of urban experts and representatives of resident welfare associations during the meet and said the encroachment drive was not only against small houses or shops. “We started the demolition drive at Kodichikkanahalli and Kasavanahalli because they faced the risk of flooding.It is just the fifth day and we still have a lot of encroachments to cover. Nobody , including big builders, will be spared. We have strengthened our legal team to make strong arguments in court to get stays vacated against some build ings,“ he added.

We will have to see that actually happening.

Prasad said he hasn't come under any political pressure from MLAs or ministers. “Earlier, whenever the civic body took up a demolition drive, some pressure was brought to stall the exercise. Everybody here has a godfather under whose influence the encroachments were preserved. Now, with the chief minister himself giving the nod to clear encroachments, we are not facing any problems,“ he added.

Is it an indication that the kind of clout that the George's and Ramalinga Reddy's enjoyed, and which perhaps were responsible for the kind of 'development' ( some examples of which are seen here) we see all around us, is on the wane? One would like to believe so. 

He said there was no scope to divert the storm water drain to save some houses as they are executing the project as per the village maps and sketches given by the revenue department. Chain link fencing will be done along the SWD network to curb future encroachments, he added.

Bengaluru which provides all kinds of services to even the most developed of cities around the world still has to go by century old "village maps"? Now that the exercise of proper mapping is to be done, can we expect a certain level of professionalism in their execution?

Asked whether BBMP was mulling giving compensation to residents whose houses are getting demolished, the commissioner made it clear there was no scope for it. “We are not acquiring anybody's property. I agree there is involvement of officials, for which they are being made liable. In case of developers indulging in illegalities, we can check whether they can be made to pay for the occupants,“ he added.

Officials being suspended does not amount to their "being made liable". One expects deterrent punishments so that no one will ever attempt such disastrous mis-adventures ever again.

Its important  these Google  maps  are able to give so much info but BBMP is blind on this.

Even  Century on Bellary road  just Opposite Sahakar Nagar is building big  Complex on the drain  going to Amruthalli lake

JC Yelahanka BBMP says , he will look inot that,  BBMP has been  boright by the big builders   So do not expect much action on these.

People who have lost due to BBMP should sit on Dharana infront of Orinion Mall till its recoverd

The city does not have new maps. Land records are in a mess and cannot be trusted. Successive governments have encouraged the corrupt municipal officials.

If the government wants to solve the problem, land records can simply be amalgamated with Google maps and all citizens can easily make out if they are buying houses built on lakes. While over 500 MNCs have large software development centres, GE and 200 others have R&D centres, and Intel developed its new chip in Bengaluru, the state government has failed to use locally available software talent to develop new maps and make these available to citizens online. Instead it has decided to use the 1905 British map, with the consequences outlined above.

For the full text of the blog by Mr Vivek Kulkarni, a former IT secretary of the GoK, in the ToI, click here.

I had stated in post of 11th Aug (scroll above to read) as "Bengaluru which provides all kinds of services to even the most developed of cities around the world still has to go by century old "village maps"? Now that the exercise of proper mapping is to be done, can we expect a certain level of professionalism in their execution?" Mr Kulkarni more or less reiterates the point.

Enough people have lost their life-time's savings, and more importantly a roof over their heads. No longer can we afford not having proper professional services from government agencies, in every aspect of governance (check here, for more). Can we all start collectively demanding that?

These info sharing will make BBMP to run for cover

DH is reporting that demolition debris blocking rajakaluves.

“the rajakaluves which were cleared, have been blocked by a huge amount of debris. BBMP is yet to clear them. Lack of progress on the work of constructing walls on both sides of the drain is evident despite Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordering it while reviewing the progress. Although officials claimed that the debris is being removed, a visit to the spot showed a different picture. From Kodichikkanahalli to Yelahanka, work on constructing the drains is yet to be taken up.”

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/566615/now-demolition-debris-blocking-rajakaluves.html

Who are these surveyors? Do they belong to BBMP or are they private parties? Can they be bought out by rims of notes that they cant resist? Then the big sharks who have given prasada to the netas and babus will buy the surveyors out. 

An inspection by the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) using satellite imagery revealed that the primary drain bed, which was originally 160 ft wide on the village map, had shrunk to 50 ft, and no buffer had been maintained. The course of the drain also looked changed in the satellite image vis-a-vis the original village map.

- - - Environmentalists have time and again pointed out that closing drains was a bad idea -  it led to trapping of gases inside and made it a toxic mess.

A long-time resident of Indiranagar, retired information and publicity director, and the former president of KGA, BNS Reddy, said: "In the days to come, Indiranagar and Domlur areas will suffer when the drain clogs up. As per law, nobody can cover the drain and I don't know how government gave its approval. First two portions of the drain near Diamond District and Embassy were permitted to be covered. Now, there is work going on to cover the drain on another side. If the BBMP can destroy people's homes in the name of encroachment, then why make an exception here?"

Another social activist who has been following this issue said the BBMP commissioner has special permission to issue orders for covering a drain in an exceptional case — entrance to a property and not for building parking space.

For the full text of the report (in the same context as my post of 20th Aug - scroll above to read - on encroachments into Maharaja-kaluve - emphasis added by me) in the Bangalore Mirror, click here

The pictures in the report bring out the scenario fairly graphically.

The width reduction from the original 160 ft to the present was 50ft had already led to flooding of the adjoining areas enough times. Now, the further narrowing to less than one-quarter of 50 ft even (seen in my post of 20th Aug, and pictures 1 & 2 below), is certain to flood Diamond District ground level (in the minimum), Domlur, Jogupalya, Cambridge layout, Ulsoor, and more, apart from the KGA golf course, come the Oct/Nov rains.

From the above pictures, it appears the builder is providing for another access to the property from the Western end, and intending to make the reclaimed width of the Maharaja-kaluve into his visitor parking lot, with a crossing each for coming 'in' and going 'out'. Of course, that's going to go under water too - perhaps, that's all he cares for the visitors.

On the matter of covering of drains, the argument put forth by the builders is that cleaning/ clearing where required can be done by removing the slabs. But, the slabs here are at least some 5 tonnes each, requiring heavy cranes to do the job, and consequently, it will never be done. In effect, the 350 M length of the covered maharaja-kaluve is a disaster waiting to happen, in very many ways.

BBMP is a synonym for inefficiency and corruption.  They have taken a pledge to destroy every lake and help builders encroach every Raja Kaluve.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra on Thursday reiterated his commitment to demolish Prestige Tech Park, which is allegedly built on a storm water drain (SWD) in Bellandur.

Jayachandra, who, on Wednesday, had referred to the structure as an apartment complex, clarified on Thursday that it is the Prestige Tech Park that has come up on the SWD. He said the land for the tech park was allotted by Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).

“I have instructed the BBMP Commissioner to examine the records and apprise me about the legalities. The structure clearly stands on a storm water drain, which is part of the Koramangala-Chellaghatta Valley project to take water to irrigation tanks in Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts. The structure will be razed if it is found to have encroached upon a storm water drain,” Jayachandra said on Thursday.

For the full text of the report (emphasis added by me) in the New Indian Express, click here.

In his opening post in this blog, Srinidhi had pointed out this transgression by Prestige, quite graphically. The question arises again over the culpability of the KIADB honcho's in the whole deal, particularly considering the fact that this is very clearly an ecologically sensitive zone, as much as the Bellandur flood-plains over which they facilitated "development" of the Mantri Techpark, which the NGT has now more or less ordered to be restored to its original status - check here. 

Saw the news on tv that BBMP officials want to start the demolition work from Wednesday for Orion Mall. BBMP is asking govt permission for this. Do they need one? What is surprising is that the Brigade group has not said anything about the rajakaluve under the mall. Shows that they were aware of it. The next 3 days will show how the state of affairs in the city. Hope courts won’t give stay on this..  

Today's DH Article

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/568608/trouble-orion-mall-survey-sketch.html

The MaharajaKaluve flowing down from Ulsoor, via Jogupalya, Domlur, past Diamond District (on Old Airport road), and along the Golf club north boundary, is now more or less totally blocked, as seen from the picture above, taken yesterday. The process started with the covering of 350M of its length along the newly developed Embassy Grove - see my post of 20th Aug, '16, scrolling above.

Even as the BBMP and various government agencies kept making all kinds of noises about Rajakaluve encroachments, threatening demolitions and even carrying out a few, this mega encroachment into what I term as the MaharajaKaluve, being amongst the biggest of drains flowing into Bengaluru's biggest lake, remains untouched, in spite of my repeated attempts to bring it to the attention of the powers that be through twitter and various means, apart from the wide mainstrem media coverage the matter has received.

Come monsoons, and everyone living along it beware.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/610768/now-apartments-pay-price-bellandur.html

This is very interesting! How did the owners buy apartments in the first [lace? The so called educated and techies did not they ask where their sewage was going? I read an article that 199 apts pour their sewage to the lake. This is hypocrisy to the core. First they complained about smell and other things fully knowing that it was their own sewage that is entering the lake. Putting STPs and maintaining them will increase their monthly maintenance fees.

Media is reluctant to ask proper qns to the owners of the apts. That girl from news 9 English who speaks in double tone, should not be sent outside for reporting. She can’t ask proper qns.

If news 9 is willing to give me a chance, I can cover all the environmental and transportation issues for the channel. I can speak fluently in both languages with some expereince in reporting. 

http://www.deccanherald.c...

Is this a good idea rpoposed by KLCDA?  

The job is almost complete. Being just above ground level, can very well serve as a car park, to begin with, and eventually, perhaps there are more possibilities.