Despite HC order, Palike fails to raze wall blocking roads

Order passed in March 2016 on Vyalikaval Layout residents' plea

Residents feel the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) drive against illegal constructions is selective.

The residents of 4th, 5th and 6th main roads of Vyalikaval Layout in Nagawara are at a loss to understand why the civic agency is not clearing a compound wall blocking all these roads, despite an interim order by the High Court six months ago.

The walls were constructed across these roads of Vyalikaval House Building Co-operative Society Layout at Nagawara. The land is on survey number 78/7 which was a part of the land parcel ordered by the Supreme Court to be returned to the original land owners. The walls had blocked the way from Govindapura, Kuppuswamy Layout, Vyalikaval Layout, Fatima Layout, Umar Nagar and Rashad Nagar. The residents' association had approached the High Court in this regard. The court had passed an interim order in March 2016 directing the BBMP to demolish the compound wall.

The residents claim that while the BBMP engineers are busy laying roads on certain other roads in the area only to help a few private apartments in the layout, they have failed to implement the court order. The association suspects foul play and claims powerful persons are involved in grabbing land, including the roads laid as per the BDA approved plan. “These roads, in addition to being the main access, are also the lifeline of the residents as all the utilities such as water and sewerage pipes and electricity lines and cables pass through them. We had enclosed the court order with its directions to the BBMP and the BDA to demolish the compound wall blocking the roads. The order was earlier submitted to Assistant Engineer, BBMP, HBR Layout and the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force. However, they failed to take any action,'' a resident told DH.

The BBMP officials admitted that they have received the court order. BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said the wall will be demolished soon. “We will soon follow the court order and demolish the wall constructed across the roads,” he said. Recently, the BBMP had demolished a compound wall encroaching upon the stormwater drain by HKBK College run by Karnataka Muslim Federation in survey number 37 at Nagawara.