Koramangala residents are heaving a sigh of relief after the footpath encroachment clearance drive.
Unauthorised structures and obstructions on footpaths, mostly by small hotels, petty shops and some hawkers who had encroached upon the footpaths with permanent structures especially on the busy main roads are finally being removed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Koramangala Police. In a joint operation, the BBMP and the police have removed hundreds of structures occupied on footpaths and property has been seized. This action comes following the High Court’s strict directive to BBMP to clear pavements from encroachments within three months and make it pedestrian friendly.
“20th Main Road, 1st Cross Road (Krishna Temple Road – Jyoti Nivas College Road), 80 feet Road from Passport Office to Sarjapur Road (Mahatyagi Lakshmidevi Road), 100 feet Road, Sarjapur Road from Petrol Pump to Storm Water Drain in Jakkasandra Extension, have been cleared of all encroachments on footpaths”, said Assistant Executive Engineer Pujar.
All those who had encroached upon have been photographed and property has been seized. The entire premises of BBMP office in Koramangala is dumped with seized petty shops and other illegal structures that occupied footpaths. The seized property is being returned with an undertaking that the owner will not install or run it again at any place on a footpath. For more than a decade, pedestrians as well as motorists were facing problems from such encroachments. The pedestrians had hardly any place to stand/walk on footpath. Even the motorists had to struggle to pass the busy roads and junctions too which had been encroached upon. There was no need to issue notices to encroachers of footpaths as Section 288-D of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act empowers the Commissioner to remove certain types of encroachments without issuing prior notices.
The deadline came to an end last week, but the BBMP will have to submit the report to the High Court on the next hearing date later this month.
It may be recalled that the High Court of Karnataka on July 23, 2014 had set a three-month deadline for the BBMP to clear footpaths of unauthorised structures and obstructions, without issuing notices to encroachers.
The court also had asked the BBMP to lay new footpaths where there were none and relay the unscientifically laid ones within six months.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice DH Waghela and Justice HG Ramesh had issued the directions during the hearing of a public interest litigation petition filed by Jennifer Pinto and Priya Rao, who had sought direction to the BBMP and the city police to remove all objects obstructing footpaths across the city. The petitioners had also sought direction to the authorities to construct footpaths as per scientific norms.
However, on a subsequent hearing, the court put a rider stating that the BBMP should not violate the provisions of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which came into force on May 1, 2014.
The Bench issued the direction when it was pointed out that the newly enacted Street Vendors Act provided protection for street vendors across the country. The new law states that no street vendor shall be evicted or relocated till the survey of vendors was completed and certificate of vending issued to all vendors by specifying their vending locations. The Bench told the government and BBMP that there should be no conflict between the right of persons to walk and the right of persons to sell while formulating the street vending scheme.
