Firoz.T.Totanawala The Bangalore Metro Reporter BANGALORE ENCROACHED

FIROZ.T.TOTANAWALA

THE BANGALORE METRO REPORTER 

 BANGALORE ENCROACHED 

 The monsoon season has already set in and the city awaits the magnificent rainfall this year in optimism. There is a possibility of a massive rain also which could inundate Bangalore and sink the low lying areas. And of course we all know that the BBMP would blame the encroachment for the flooding and escape. Then there will be assurances and false promises by the BBMP and Bangalore Ministers about their determination to clear the encroachments. And once the rains ceases, the business is back to square one till the next rainy season. Till such time Bangalore witnesses another flood like situation, nobody complains. 

 In 2005 if you remember, Bangalore was flooded beyond imagination. The low lying areas were overflowed with water gushing from overflowed tanks. The government blamed the people for encroachments of Raja Kaluves and since then every Government and the BBMP continue to harp on the ‘encroachment’ being the sole reason and people believed it. People are used to sufferings and at the maximum; they would curse the Government and the BBMP officials. Even if we assume that encroachments were the main reason, why does the BBMP do not prevent such encroachments and clear the already existing ones? The hard truth is that none of the politicians or responsible authorities has spared a thought on betterment of civic infrastructure. They have just learnt to escape the responsibility by blaming the encroachments and doing nothing to rectify the situation. 

 Undoubtedly, the best way to tackle the floods in Bangalore is to clear the existing encroachments and prevent any more encroachments in future. The storm water drains have to be given utmost attention as takes the burden of the floods. It is also a fact that since 1995 various Governments have spent crores and crores of rupees in the name of modernizing the storm water drains but with no result. In many cases, the BBMP had also built the retaining walls on either side of the drains but due to sub standard works, there were collapses of retaining walls in many places. 

 There are also cases wherein the BBMP itself had a careless approach to the drain. It permitted establishments of shops and residences on the drains by enclosing them with slab stones. Besides, there are cases wherein Land sharks have grabbed the drain and tank areas and used it for personal gains. There are also instances where BBMP itself has sealed the drain and the tanks and allowed parks and sports utilities to come up on it. In some cases even the politicians have successfully converted the drain and tank area to be used for commercial activities. In such situations, water will overflow and flood the surrounding areas where the drains are sealed. 

 Unless the Storm water drains are improved nothing can stop the floods in Bangalore and it has to be tackled urgently. It is easier to say that all encroachments will be cleared but difficult to implement. There are cases where in the civic body itself has provided legitimacy by giving plan sanction and civic amenities to many of the houses who have encroached the tanks and drains. There are slums on the drains and tanks which make it a delicate issue that needs a political will to tackle the same. 

 If the BBMP authorities take up the civic problem seriously then it can prevent any further encroachments. However, clearing of the existing encroachment will need government’s support and back up. Shockingly, the BBMP does not have proper information and facts about the actual encroachments on either side of the drains. It might have the satellite images but it cannot become their concrete information. Therefore the first step to clearing drains would be information on the encroachments. 

 In order to arrive at the exact encroachments, the BBMP will have to form an expert committee of surveyors. The committee will have to study the old survey records - village maps to identify the tanks, Rajakaluves and mark the boundaries. This will indeed require a study of survey records dating back to about 50 years. 

 If this is done, the committee can accumulate the minute details of encroachments of Rajakaluves and tanks. Though this will need a lot of time and man power, it can be substantially be reduced if the committee makes use of the survey reports by the team of surveyors who have conducted extensive survey three years back for the AT Ramaswamy Commission of enquiry for the encroachments of the government lands. This particular survey to a substantial extent has identified the encroached government lands and tanks. It will be a sort of ready reckoner which can help in the identification of encroachments of drains and tanks. 

 Next the government will have to clear the encroachments. It is here that the government should approach the clearance drive with human touch. While nobody wants the government to compensate the apartments on encroached lands, the government should provide rehabilitation package to people who have built small houses. They should be provided with sites either from BDA or in the Ashraya scheme. They should be provided housing loans at cheaper interest also. Once they receive the site, they should be asked to vacate the houses on encroached lands immediately. In a matter of days, the entire encroachments will get cleared. In that event, the court litigations will not arise. For those who refuse to vacate despite the rehabilitation package, they should be evicted without mercy. 

 Then, the entire stretch of drains should be fenced to prevent any more encroachments. The same has to be repeated in case of encroachments of tanks. The inter linkage of tanks should be restored to its original pattern. If all these measures are taken, Bangalore will get rid off any future flooding and this will also raise the ground water level in addition to keeping ecological balance. Is there anyone listening?