The Indian Express ·
Crime, law and justice
2,500 Bengaluru East PGs operating illegally, Karnataka High Court told
The Greater Bengaluru Authority’s counsel informed the Karnataka High Court that PG accommodations found to have violated zonal regulations and/or building bye-laws could face demolition.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has informed the Karnataka High Court that 2,500 paying guest (PG) accommodations out of the 5,000 inspected in Bengaluru East are operating illegally—without proper licence, building plan sanction, and fire safety clearances.
Advocate B S Karthikeyan, appearing for the GBA, informed the court that notices are being issued to all the illegal PG accommodation owners. The Authority has also filed caveats before the high court and the jurisdictional civil courts to ensure that PG accommodation owners do not obtain an ex parte interim stay without hearing the GBA, he added.
The areas covered in Bengaluru East are Whitefield, Mahadevapura, KR Puram, Indiranagar, and CV Raman Nagar, a hub for many IT companies and multinational companies.
Karthikeyan said that necessary orders would be passed at the earliest after providing the concerned parties an opportunity to be heard. He added that, if necessary, demolition would be undertaken where constructions were found to be in violation of zonal regulations and/or building bye-laws.
A single-judge bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj, which is hearing the plea filed by the Paying Guest Owners Association and a few individual PG accommodation owners challenging the notices issued to them, said in its order dated September 10: “Taking into consideration the seriousness of the matter relating to paying guests, the number of paying guest accommodations in the city of Bangalore, and the number of persons who would be affected adversely if any untoward incident were to occur, this court is of the considered opinion that respondents would have to implement the guidelines strictly.”
The court also issued comprehensive guidelines for authorities to ensure that PG accommodations are housed in legally permitted premises and are “maintained in a condition which protects the life, health, safety and dignity of occupants, safety and lawful interests of neighbouring residents and adjoining property owners and the wider interests of the general public”.
“Competent authorities should adopt a continuing, risk-based system of identification, inspection, compliance and enforcement rather than treating licensing as a one-time exercise,” the court said.
It suggested that a digital database of all PG accommodations in the city be set up. The bench warned that if there were violations and no action was taken by the officers, they would be personally liable for any untoward incident that may occur.
In February, the high court directed an inspection of PG accommodations to ensure that owners were following all the guidelines laid down while issuing trade licences. The GBA initially undertook inspections in Bengaluru East Corporation. Now, on the court’s directions, the drive has been extended to the remaining four corporations.
Earlier, the court was informed that most PG accommodations in Bengaluru East were allegedly flouting building compliance norms, zoning regulations, fire safety protocols, and food safety standards.
