A group of resident welfare associations (RWAs), which have been battling ‘rampant commercialisation in residential areas’, took their fight to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Monday.
RWA members, along with the Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF), have already been knocking on the doors of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) over zoning violations.
On Monday, NBF and RWA members sought the commission’s intervention in establishing how commercial users of residential spaces, which are meant to be purely residential according to the Revised Master Plan 2015, have been able to convert domestic electricity meters to commercial ones when they are illegal.
“The Bescom (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company) handbook states that tariff change requires municipal licence. In these cases, we note that over 90% of the establishments do not have a trade licence from the BBMP. The tariff change is being effected by field-level officials with a mere application for change of tariff,” a statement said.
They accused commercial establishments of misusing the fact that they have commercial meters from Bescom to mislead courts and called for civic agencies to work in tandem to ensure enforcement of laws.
Under intense pressure from residents as well as courts, BBMP had warned illegally-running commercial establishments to voluntarily close down lest they face action. Earlier this year, notices were sent to around 2,500 establishments. However, there has been no action since then. The BBMP council has decided to form a committee to look into the issue, but it is yet to be constituted.
