While there are complaints about the pace of the fire audit, the Fire and Emergency Services has for the first time ever conducted an on-ground survey and identified all the high-rises in the State, including illegal ones. High-rises are buildings that are taller than 15 metres.
The survey, carried out last year, put the number of high-rises in the State at 18,442, of which 15,850 are in Bengaluru.
Findings questioned
While some still dispute the findings, the BBMP Restructuring Committee, which carried out a satellite aided Geographical Information System (GIS) survey of the entire city recently, recorded 15,951 high-rise buildings, which is just 101 more than those identified in the on-ground survey. The difference is attributed to buildings under construction, as the satellite survey also counts such structures.
“Until recently, no agency in the State had the number of high-rise buildings, as most are illegal and have not taken necessary clearances from civic bodies. The survey has, for the first time, identified illegal high-rises that have been overlooked by civic agencies,” said M.N. Reddi, DGP, Fire and Emergency Services.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has no reliable data on the number of Occupancy Certificates and Clearance Certificates issued by its Town Planning Department to high-rises.
Between 2009 and 2014, the civic body issued clearances to only 97 high-rises. However, thousands of high-rises were added to the city’s skyline in that period. The magnitude and contours of the scam were made evident by the two surveys.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force and Lokayukta police are probing the fake OC and CC scam in the Town Planning Department.
