Nearly two-third residents of the respondents of a survey blamed civic authorities or elected representatives for the mess around encroachments of storm water drains (SWDs).
Soon after the encroachment clearance drive threw up visuals of demolished houses, over 2,500 citizens were interviewed by a team led by Sandeep Shastri, a social scientist and survey researcher. Over 100 wards were covered through interviews.
Among the results was citizens’ perception on who is to be blamed for the encroachments. Overall, 63 per cent of the respondents blamed both the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and elected officials. However, in wards affected by demolitions, the figure goes up to 67 per cent. Less than one-fifth of the respondents blamed builders or citizens.
“Those with access to education were more likely to blame the BBMP while those with limited access to education found fault with the elected representatives and builders,” notes the study, adding that timely action by BBMP and elected representatives could have averted the problem.
The demolitions, which started on August 6, were aimed at demolishing properties that have come up on erstwhile canals and were based on village maps. While the BBMP reiterated that this was a necessary step to curtail the possibility of floods in the city, many of those surveyed seemed to agree with the logic. Barely a fourth of the respondents perceived the drives as being politically motivated or arbitrary in nature.
Are all citizens at risk of being at the receiving end of a demolition drive? A fourth of the respondents believed that their house could be similarly targeted.
Further, two-thirds believed long-term solutions or steps should come from the BBMP to prevent further encroachments and demolitions.
“Clearly, citizens favoured a proactive approach on the part of authorities to prevent a repeat of such encroachments,” states the study.
