Karnataka may ban construction of new flats in Bengaluru for 5 years

In view of the acute water shortage in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government is contemplating a five-year ban on the construction of apartment buildings in the state capital, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara said on Thursday.

Many buildings were being constructed in Bengaluru without paying any attention to the basic amenities required for residents, he told reporters.

“Traffic and facilities cannot be regulated. In large constructions with about 3,000 flats there are equal number of vehicles but approach roads are not provided,” said Parameshwara.

“In terms of drinking water, it is brought from some lake and given to the people, without checking if it is clean or not. Some people have complained that they are getting skin diseases because of this,” he added.

“This is the reason we are thinking of enforcing a five-year ban on new apartment constructions,” the minister said. Karnataka is reeling under a severe drought and a delayed monsoon has played truant with the state. Additionally, Bengaluru’s population has increased manifold over the past three decades, with governmental sources pegging current estimates at 12 million, up over 2 million from 2011, when the Census recorded Bengaluru district’s population at 9.6 million. Parameshwara said that he would ask the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to check if all the buildings in the city had installed sewage treatment plants to make better use of water resources.

Responding to the proposal, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson S Prakash said the statement showed the incompetence of the state government in ensuring that new projects adhered to norms. “The question is what was the government doing when developers flouted the rules in this manner. How were no objection certificates issued to these projects? In the absence of any concrete steps, this threat seems to be a means to negotiate with the builders,” he claimed.