The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner to personally file an affidavit explaining why an illegal building in Bommanahalli zone was not demolished even 18 months after an order to demolish it was passed under the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice H.T. Narendra Prasad issued the direction while hearing a PIL complaining that D. Ramachandar had constructed a three-storey commercial complex without a proper plan sanction and by encroaching on a stormwater drain on site number 31 at Yellenahalli of Beguru.
The BBMP, on inspection of the property, had issued a notice to the property owner to submit documents, like sanctioned plan. As the owner failed to respond, in January 2018 the BBMP passed an order for demolition.
When the petition came up for hearing on Thursday, the bench noticed that the BBMP is yet to demolish the building. The civic body is in the process of approving a tender for demolishing the building at an estimated cost of ₹15 lakh.
The bench also directed the commissioner to explain what action he proposes to take against the officers who failed to execute the order for demolition.
