Wire mesh fence on SWD buffer zone permissible, BBMP tells NGT

The BBMP told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it has allowed an apartment builder to construct a wire mesh fence on the 15-meter buffer zone of a stormwater drain days after razing the building’s compound wall.

The case involves SV Elegant, an apartment in Kumbena Agrahara. Following the NGT intervention, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) demolished a swimming pool and other infrastructure built on the buffer zone. The builder’s plea that the wall on the buffer zone be allowed for the sake of “the safety of the apartment owners” was rejected by the tribunal.

During a hearing on Monday, a bench of justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Satyagopal Korlapati examined an affidavit filed by the builder requesting to construct an “eco-friendly mesh” along the boundary of the buffer area “to prevent intruders from illegally entering the buffer zone and to safeguard the saplings from being grazed by livestock”.

After receiving assurances from the builder that no permanent structures will be erected next to the drain, the counsel representing the BBMP stated that “this kind of wire mesh fencing is permitted to be erected in the buffer zone”.

The NGT directed the builder to maintain the buffer zone and use it solely for growing saplings and planting purposes. The NGT also directed the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to levy environmental compensation under the ‘polluter pays’ principle. The KSPCB indicated that the penalty had already been calculated, to which the NGT directed the board to proceed according to the rules and regulations in place.