The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development Department) and the Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to personally appear before it through videoconference on Tuesday over breach of containment zone (CZ) norms by the BBMP and the government’s failure to act against the civic body.
The court found that the BBMP, despite earlier orders from the court, has not yet identified poor persons, who are in need of food, residing in around 3,200 CZs as per the CZ norms, and the government had failed to step in to enforce these norms through its machinery.
A special Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Alok Aradhe passed the order while orally observing that the past and the present conduct of the BBMP warrants suspension of the civic body.
Ration kits
Earlier, BBMP counsel said that the civic body has now supplied ration kits to around 1,250 families, list of which was furnished more than 10 days ago.
The Counsel said that the BBMP has changed its earlier claim that it may supply food kits only as far as practicable as there was no restriction for people to move in and out of CZ to buy essentials.
Meanwhile, the Bench pointed out that the BBMP, which had earlier said that no restrictions exists on people to move in and out of CZs, has even on Monday failed to show that movement has been now restricted as per the CZ norms, which bans people residing in the CZ from coming out of their houses.
