Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar directs BBMP to survey under-construction buildings in Bengaluru

A man takes his vehicle on a makeshift raft to cross a flooded area after the Doddabommasandra lake overflowed following heavy rains at Sai Layout in Bengaluru on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to carry out a survey of under-construction buildings in the city and on the outskirts. 

He gave the directions during a meeting on disaster management at the BBMP head office on Thursday, to discuss mitigating the flood situation from which the city reeled for several days following the onset of the north-east monsoon. 

On Tuesday, an under-construction building at Babusapalya collapsed, killing eight labourers and injuring several others. The incident put the spotlight on unauthorised constructions as the structure was built on ‘B’ kharab land. The construction was not sanctioned by the Town Planning Department of the BBMP. 

Mr. Shivakumar, in view of this, said the BBMP should conduct surveys to identify illegal constructions in the city and on the outskirts, along with the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF). “The government is committed to razing illegal buildings across the city,” he said. 

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath on Thursday issued a fresh order suspending the Assistant Engineer in Mahadevapura zone for his alleged failure to stop the construction of the illegal building on the ‘B’ kharab land. He is suspended pending enquiry.