Firoz.T.Totanawala The Bangalore Metro Reporter THE MALL OF MANIPULATIONS ‘BANGALORE CENTRAL-JAYANAGAR’-VIOLATIONS GALORE

By Firoz.T.Totanawala  

The Bangalore Metro Reporter 

THE MALL OF MANIPULATIONS 

‘BANGALORE CENTRAL-JAYANAGAR’-VIOLATIONS GALORE 

 The ‘Bangalore Central’, a shopping Mall located in Jayanagar stands as the shining example for manipulation - machinations and corruption. This Mall violated laws that govern the construction to the commercial business. The BBMP officials are hand in glove with the Mall owners. From the plan sanction stage to the commencement of construction to the completion of the building to the occupancy certificate, it is violations all the way. The people living in the neighbourhood are feeling suffocated not only with the parking menace but also with the choking of their drains... 

The Bangalore Central Mall in Jayanagar 9th Block developed by Mantri Developers is worth a study. It is a prestigious Mall in Bangalore South with hundreds of commercial shops, food courts, Multiplexes etc. Allegedly, the Bangalore Central Mall was built violating many stipulated rules and regulations and the willing BBMP officials turned a blind eye towards the violations, albeit for a price! Not only this, allegedly, the officials of departments concerned like Pollution Board, Traffic Police, Commercial Tax etal are all involved. To understand the quality and quantum of violations, one has to start from the construction stage. 

 The Bangalore Central (BC) is built on a big stretch of land abetting 17th Main, Marenahalli, JP Nagar 2nd phase. Earlier, there was a pharmaceutical Company - BPRL (P) Ltd., functioning on this industrial land run by its owners S.T. Raghavendra Madi and family. The Madis after relocating the pharmaceutical company elsewhere built Chartered Madis Apartment in a portion of this big land. They have also built their residence in a portion of the land and in the remaining portion, the Bangalore Central is located. It was built partnering Prathiba Realtors Ltd., a front of Mantri Developers. 

 The construction was started in 2009. Everybody knows that while building a huge Mall, there are rules to be followed scrupulously. Before applying for plan sanction, the owners have to submit the NOC from the neighbours for construction and Trade license. It is a must. Considering the nature of the educated people residing in the neighbouring areas, it was impossible to get the NOC from the neighbours as they would obviously object fearing the commercialization post Mall construction. The Madis therefore hit upon a novel idea to overcome this biggest problem of NOC which is very crucial in getting the plan and Trade license sanction for the Mall. The Madis did unimaginable and submitted NOC from neighbours. Now, who are these neighbours who have signed the consent? The first was S.T.R. Madi himself. Madi’s house is in the premises of the property itself. The second signature is that of K.M.Upadhyaya, a cousin of Madi who resides in Madi’s ‘Chartered Madi Apartment’! The third was Sunil Subramanyam, a tenant in the same apartment who is not residing there since long. The fourth was A.M.Kashi Udupa, again a relative of Madis who is not a neighbour as he is residing two roads away. 

 What does this mean? The NOC are manipulated one. There are other residents all along 17th Main and none of them have given their NOC for the simple reason that they were unaware of the project. They were not even approached. Obviously, the BBMP officials should have inspected the spot and ascertained the opinion of the neighbours who may be affected by the proposed business. This would have the fact that the NOC was signed by none other than the owner of the land and his relatives including a person who is not a neighbour at all. But, they simply overlooked to do their duty allegedly for obvious reasons. This is a first major violation by the Bangalore Central. 

The next perplexing factor is the trade license given by the BBMP. Shockingly, the BBMP has given ‘Trade License’ to the whole complex by defeating the very purpose and basis for trade license. Every trader whether small, medium or big, should obtain the Trade License for their individual trade. There is no provision to issue trade license to the whole complex in one go. The BC Mall has hundreds of shops selling from salt to the scotch. As per the BBMP rules, every trader has to obtain individual trade license for the business they do either in the streets or in the Mall. This is a must. Then, how one can comprehend the BBMP issuing Trade License to the whole complex? This beats any known standard or limit of logic or reason. 

 Besides, the BC Mall opens scores of temporary shops in its compound on the pretext of special occasions be it a festival or even a weekend. Interestingly, nobody in BBMP opposes this serious violation. If a petty trader or even a push cart trader does business in the street, the BBMP officials pounce on them and seize the items. But when a prestigious BC Mall does this sort of street business, the BBMP officials take no action! 

 Most importantly, the BC Mall does not have proper parking facilities. Eventually, the customers park their vehicles on the roads, particularly on 17th Main, which is not even a 30 ft. Road. There are apartments on this road and the owners/tenants park their vehicles on one side of the road while the BC Mall customers park their vehicles on the other side of the road making it impossible for any vehicle to pass through this road easily. The parking menace has reached unbearable level. Residents in this area are cursing the BC Mall, but they have become helpless before the might of the big people who are into the Mall business. 

 The residents are plugged with another menace which has become a health hazard. The BC Mall lets out sewage water and wastes into the drain, sometimes choking the drains. The drains are meant for rain water passage and as such they are not big enough to withstand the load of sanitary water and wastes from the BC Mall. In fact, the Mall has to make arrangements on its own for sanitary and solid waste management. It is a big problem as thousands of people visit the Mall everyday and one can imagine the pressure on drains laid by BWSSB for the benefit of the residents. 

 On the contrary, the BC Mall has obtained permission from the Pollution Board to manage the sanitary and sewage to discharge about 100 KLD per day. In fact, the Pollution Board has stipulated in its permission, that the sewage discharge of 100 KLD per day be treated through the treatment plant and the same had to be used for gardening. The permission also stipulates that there shall not be discharge of sewage outside the premises! But the BC Mall does not care to follow these conditions. Sometimes they let the sewage water to the drains in Main and Cross Roads. Again, the Pollution Board officials do not care to inspect or verify whether the BC Mall is following the stipulations allegedly for obvious reasons. 

 Is anybody listening! Any comments!