BBMP seeks more surveyors to expedite clearance of stormwater drain encroachments

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath has directed officials to write to the land records department, urging additional surveyors to expedite marking and removing encroachments.

Bengaluru: Out of the 3,176 stormwater drain encroachments, the BBMP has already cleared 2,322, data from the civic body has revealed.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath, who reviewed the progress in removing encroachments on Friday, has directed officials to write to the land records department, urging additional surveyors to expedite marking and removing encroachments.

“We have submitted a detailed action plan to the Karnataka High Court on removing encroachments,” Girinath said. “The plan chalks out the assistance we need from the revenue and police departments. Though we have submitted a timeline, we are not able to adhere to it owing to lack of surveyors. Hence, we are writing to the revenue department to depute additional surveyors to pace up the process.”

Acknowledging the delay in securing orders from the tahsildars to remove encroachments, Girinath said talks are on with Bengaluru DC to sort out the issue. 

“The high court observed that tahsildars lack the authority to issue such orders. Therefore, we have urged the DC to investigate the matter or obtain necessary permissions from the revenue department to empower tahsildars,” he said.

Over the past 15 days, the SWD department reported the successful removal of approximately 75 encroachments. But the civic body has been facing challenges in addressing encroachments on lake beds.