It may be victory in court for residents fighting commercialisation of residential areas, but on ground there is little relief as areas such as Indiranagar and Koramangala have seen mushrooming of commercial outlets, including pubs and restaurants.
Even court orders for closure of specific establishments that are in violation of the existing zoning regulations have been cleverly sidestepped and violated in spirit, say residents of Indiranagar.
In April 2017, Praveen Sundaram, a resident of Indiranagar II Stage, got a favourable direction from the High Court on the closure of 77 commercial outlets in the area that were violating zonal norms. Following this, BBMP issued notices to these outlets. “At this stage, we found an interesting development. In at least two cases, outlets that had been served notices changed their name overnight and started business as usual. These include a spa and an interior design store. We have brought this to the notice of the BBMP as well, to no effect,” said Mr. Sundaram.
Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Health, acknowledged that residents had brought the issue to their notice and said that action would be taken soon. “The same establishment working despite court orders with just a name change is a serious crime. We will conduct a spot inspection and shut them down,” he said.
Sources said that the local health officer had already conducted a spot inspection and issued notice. However, this has had little effect.
These are not isolated cases. “We have learnt of more cases in other parts of Indiranagar and HAL II Stage,” Mr. Sundaram said.
Aruna Newton, another resident, said that there seems to be no respite from pubs and restaurants. “We have a new four-floor massive club coming up near 100 feet road. We are seeing commercial establishments becoming more brazen and opening without any credible documents and permits,” she said.
Residents have also put 33 appeals in civil court against pubs and bars.
In Koramangala
Similar incidents are playing out in Koramangala too. Resident Nitin Sheshadri said that a new international school was coming up on a 30-ft-wide road in a residential area. “We are opposing the occupancy certificate and other permits for the building,” he said.
