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Time of India
10-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
E-khata mandatory for building plan approval from July 1 in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Beginning July 1, BBMP will mandate submission of an e-khata for all online building plan approvals, BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath has announced. This requirement, part of civic body's digital integration efforts, is aimed at streamlining and speeding up approval process. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Currently, BBMP's town planning department processes building plan approvals through EoDB-OBPS (Ease of Doing Business–Online Building Plan Approval System) platform, while property ownership records and tax details are managed separately via revenue department's e-aasthi system, which issues e-khatas. To enhance efficiency, BBMP is integrating these two digital systems. Once integrated, applicants seeking building plan approval will need to enter their property's e-khata or EPID number into EoDB-OBPS software. This will allow the system to automatically verify property ownership and tax records without the need for manual submission or forwarding of documents to the revenue department. "This integration will eliminate the redundant step of verifying property documents separately, simplify the process, and enable faster approvals," said Maheshwar Rao, BBMP chief commissioner and additional chief secretary, urban development department. The new rule will apply to all types of building plan approvals, including Nambike Naksha submissions. Additionally, under BBMP's new 'trust & verify' policy, assistant directors (town planning) will be required to either approve or reject applications with valid reasons within a set time frame. If they fail to do so, the system will automatically grant 'deemed approval'. In such instances, the respective zonal joint directors (town planning) must report the lapse to zonal commissioner for disciplinary action against the concerned officer.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
Bengaluru under water yet again
The monsoon is yet to hit the western coast of India. However, the pre-monsoon showers this week have brought Bengaluru, the IT capital of the country, to its knees. Major arterial roads were flooded, Hosur Road in the south was closed for traffic, and in several inundated residential localities, including Sri Sai Layout at Horamavu in the northeastern part of the city and S.T. Bed Layout in the southeast, boats were deployed to rescue people. The scenes were reminiscent of the floods in the city in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2022, all of which were during the peak monsoon season or in the post-monsoon period. But this time, the pre-monsoon showers have led to floods and mayhem. Four people have lost their lives in tree-fall, compound wall collapse, and electrocution incidents. It is mostly in April that the civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), wakes up to the monsoon, which usually hits the city in the first or second week of June. On May 5 this year, Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Giri Nath, who also holds the charge as Administrator of the BBMP, and the new Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao, held a meeting to review 'monsoon preparedness'. Civic officials were directed to pull their socks up and carry out works ahead of the onset of the monsoon. As per a statement issued after this meeting, of the 209 flood-prone spots, interventions were carried out at 166 and zonal officials were asked to visit and attend to 43 other flood-prone spots, dredge drains along 82 road stretches that were flagged as prone to flooding by the traffic police, and finish the annual maintenance work along 175-km-long storm-water drains (SWDs). The fact that annual maintenance work of the crucial SWDs is still under way, just days ahead of the onset of monsoon, indicates that it is 'business as usual'. Need for a paradigm shift As the city prepares for the monsoon, the pre-monsoon showers — often accompanied by squalls and thunderstorms — wreak more damage. In May 2023, a woman died when the car she was travelling in got submerged in the K.R. Circle underpass, a stone's throw away from the Vidhana Soudha in the city centre. Experts have called for 'a paradigm shift' and said the authorities should focus on preparing for pre-monsoon showers so that by April every year, the city is 'rain-ready'. Data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru, for 1990-2020 shows that rain begins to pick up in the city from April. During this period, while the mean total rainfall for March is 14.7 mm, it increases to 61.7 mm in April. Traditionally, the first rain is expected around Holi festival and later around Ugadi (March-April). These are called the mango showers as well. The first big rain of the year often ends up wreaking big damage as the civic administration has barely taken any measures to dredge drains along the roads and identify dangerous trees for removing or pruning them. The first rain is like a shock to the system. IMD data shows that Bengaluru receives more rainfall in May (total mean 128.7 mm) than in the monsoon months of June (110.3 mm) and July (116.4 mm). The rainfall further peaks in August, September, and October, the wettest period of the year in Bengaluru. There are two peaks — May and later September. C.S. Patil, Director of IMD, Bengaluru, says they consider March 1 to May 31 as the pre-monsoon period, June 1 to September 30 as the monsoon period, and October 1 to December 31 as the post-monsoon period. 'Heavy rain begins by May and continues till October in Bengaluru,' he says. The pre-monsoon showers in the April-May period are thunderstorms, accompanied by high-speed winds that can go up to 50 kmph and lightning, he says. 'Many trees fall during the pre-monsoon showers, mainly due to high-speed winds. During monsoon also we may see some tree-falls and thunderstorm events,' he says. B.L.G. Swamy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, BBMP, says, 'Not just old and brittle trees, even many healthy green trees have also fallen during the recent rain.' The civic body cut down several trees and pruned many as a preventive measure in the last two months, he says. Despite a special drive from April to prune trees, the city has reported over 60 tree-fall incidents and one death in one such incident during the pre-monsoon showers in May. In the last two years, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company too has reported damage to over 9,000 electricity poles and around 1,000 transformers during the pre-monsoon months. An official from the power utility says, 'We lose more infrastructure in the pre-monsoon months because of the tree-fall incidents. Our poles can withstand up to 250 kg of weight, but when bigger trees fall, a breakdown is inevitable. Before the monsoon, we also take up pruning of trees and aerial bunching of cables.' S. Vishwanath, water conservation activist, says, 'Anyone who observes the rain pattern in Bengaluru will realise that we need to be rain-ready before April. But there is a disconnect with this ground reality and the work taken up by the city administration, which wakes up to the monsoon by April, if we are lucky. We need to change the way we look at this and work backwards to the April deadline. What we do in April-May, has to be done in February-March.' Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who visited rain-affected areas in the city on May 21, pulled up officers for not being prepared for the showers. Citizen activists point out patterns that show that many stretches of roads and certain pockets of the city, despite being flagged by multiple agencies and prior experience, get flooded every time it rains. 'Why does the same set of places get flooded every year? This only shows laxity of the civic administration. Either the civic body is not working towards practical workable interventions at these points, or unplanned development of the city seems to have made it impossible to avoid flooding,' says V. Ramprasad from Friends of Lakes, a citizen collective working to conserve the city's lakes. Why do the same points get flooded every year? For the past many years, Sri Sai Layout and S.T. Bed Layout, both developed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), get flooded with even light rains, exposing not only the BBMP's laxity, but also the government's own skewed development model. The May 18 downpour resulted in houses at Sri Sai Layout getting submerged in 4-5 ft of water. Residents, including children and the elderly, were rescued by boats and tractor trolleys deployed by the State Disaster Response Force. Neelufur Ahmed, a 45-year-old resident, expressed the community's growing anxiety: 'Rain, typically seen as beneficial, has become a source of fear.' The flooding disrupts daily life and causes significant property damage, making each rainstorm increasingly perilous for those living in the neighbourhood. Despite the recurring nature of these floods, residents report a lack of effective drainage solutions and inadequate infrastructure. The BBMP Chief Commissioner, who visited the flooded locality in a tractor, promised a 'permanent solution', something the residents have been hearing from the authorities for years. Since 2020, the BBMP has been promising to drill two big vents at a railway bridge in the locality to drain out water. Rao also promised to speed up the process. During the recent city rounds of the Chief Minister, residents vented their ire at local MLA and former Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj for alleged 'apathy'. The story is no different at S.T. Bed Layout, which has been developed on a tank bed, and Trinity Fortune Layout at Geddalahalli in north Bengaluru, the two other flood-prone areas. Sandra Noel, a resident of Trinity Fortune, says, 'We were scared until the BBMP authorities arrived, as the water level kept rising after the nearby drains were flooded. This was one of the worst floods the layout has seen and if the drain problem is not fixed, it will continue for years'. The story is no different with flood-prone road stretches. Motorists, citing this week's rain, say the flood-prone roads identified by the civic body have not seen any transformation. 'The roads under the Hebbal flyover and Veerannapalya stretch on the adjoining Outer Ring Road have been flooding with every rain for years. Water gets stagnated even on the flyover. Multiple delegations of heads of all civic agencies have visited the flyover and these areas and carried out some interventions. But why does the area still flood during the rains?,' Sandeep Kumar, who takes the road to work every day, sought to know. In the May 5 monsoon preparedness review meeting, Giri Nath and Rao said the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) had flagged 82 road stretches that often get flooded during the rains. Sources say the BTP has flagged a total of 137 stretches that get inundated, of which they have also reportedly pointed out 14 stretches that are worse off and result in traffic disruptions. Problems with most of these 14 stretches have been persistent for over two years. For instance, the Veerannapalya stretch of the Outer Ring Road, the service road under the Hebbal flyover, Panathur underpass, Silk Board junction, Hosur Road, Electronics City flyover, Marathahalli, Agara 14th Main Road, and HSR Layout have been flooding with every rain for years. The same stretches were the worst affected during the recent rain. 'The primary problem at most of these stretches is clogged drains, which need regular maintenance. Most of these drains are clogged with garbage, plastic bottles, dry leaves, and such materials. But in some of these places, there is also a need for engineering interventions,' says a senior traffic police official. B.S. Prahlad, Engineer-in-Chief of the BBMP, says that the civic body had carried out interventions at most of these places. 'There will always be a run-off on the road surface during the rain. We cannot avoid that altogether. What we are working on is to reduce the time it takes for the water to drain out,' he says. What has worsened the situation this year is the many ongoing roadworks across the city, including white-topping of roads being taken up even in the central business district ahead of the rains. Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. has also dug up several key roads to push electricity cables underground, but the work is yet to be completed. Are drains and lakes prepared to mitigate floods? Meanwhile, activists point out that neither the city's drains nor the lakes are prepared for flood mitigation. 'By now, we should have ensured our lakes are only half full so that they can take in rainwater. But there seems to be no coordination between the BBMP, the agency with custody of these lakes, and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board , which is filling the lakes with treated water. If the lakes are filled with treated water and are not desilted, their carrying capacity will be severely compromised. Our lakes are wonderful flood-mitigation barriers if used properly, but they are not,' says Ramprasad. The carrying capacity of our SWDs is also severely compromised, he says. 'The carrying capacity of our drains has been reduced by at least 50%, due to the build-up of silt and flow of sewage, which is never accounted for. Naturally, they will overflow,' he says. Kathyayini Chamaraj of CIVIC, a citizen collective, says the civic body is concretising all drains and not building enough percolation pits. 'There is no way the water will seep in. It stands there, taking away the drain's carrying capacity and also becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes,' she says. Not just the SWDs, but even the shoulder drains and culverts are not being desilted regularly, leading to flooding. We need to redesign our drain system to manage our kind of monsoon, she says. Prahlad, who also holds charge as Chief Engineer, SWD, BBMP, says they are removing silt and carrying out maintenance work of SWDs at a war pace by deploying excavators, tractors, and tippers, and the drains will be ready by the onset of monsoon. (With inputs from Jahnavi T.R.) (Edited by Giridhar Narayan)
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Bengaluru to have three corporations under GBG Act, indicates CM
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, while announcing the notification of the Greater Bengaluru Area on Thursday, said that there will be at least three corporations in Bengaluru. The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, that has come into effect from May 15, Thursday, provides for one to seven municipal corporations, each with up to 150 wards. Mr. Siddaramaiah has now indicated that the current civic limits will likely be divided into three corporations. Statusquo for now However, till the new corporations are notified, the current Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will continue to work as it is. All functionaries will continue to have the same powers and discharge duties as per the BBMP Act, 2020. The transition will be gradual, sources said. Meanwhile, the Urban Development Department (UDD) on Thursday notified that the present civic limits - BBMP area of 709 sq kms - will be the new Greater Bengaluru Area. The Brand Bengaluru Committee and the Joint Legislature Committee that looked into the law recommended earmarking the Greater Bengaluru Area to be governed by the Chief Minister-led Greater Bengaluru Authority, at around 1,000 sq. km, including around 25 urban villages on the city's outskirts. The act provides for the same. 709 sq. km area However, the UDD has now notified the Greater Bengaluru Area to be only the existing BBMP area of 709 sq. km. 'There was an intense lobby by legislators of several areas around Bengaluru, including as far as parts of Tumakuru district, to include them in the Greater Bengaluru Area. Not all requests can be accommodated. Moreover, at least till new corporations are drawn up, some bare minimum civic infrastructure comes up in these new villages, just declaring them as part of civic limits will only confuse. So, as a beginning, we have declared the BBMP area as Greater Bengaluru Area, but this will probably be expanded as and when we draw up the boundaries of multiple corporations,' a senior official said. The Hindu had recently reported on how lobbying by legislators and economic constraints may force the State government to limit the Greater Bengaluru Area to the jurisdiction of the currently functional BBMP. Soon, the State government is expected to constitute the Greater Bengaluru Area under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister and name Additional Chief Secretary, UDD, and Administrator, BBMP, Tushar Giri Nath as the Administrator, GBA, who will then spearhead the transition of the city to the new governance structure.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Bengaluru: BBMP extends deadline for 5% rebate on property tax till May 31
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has extended the deadline for the 5% rebate on property tax for the financial year 2025–26 to May 31, 2025, according to BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath . Earlier, taxpayers who paid their full property tax dues by April 30, 2025, were eligible for the 5% rebate. However, under Section 144(8) of the BBMP Act, 2020, the BBMP has the authority to recommend an extension of the rebate period to the government through a notification. Based on this provision, the BBMP submitted a proposal seeking government approval for the extension. The Urban Development Department has now issued an official notification approving the revised deadline. All property owners within BBMP limits who pay their full property tax for 2025–26 by May 31, 2025, will continue to receive the 5% rebate. It may be noted that Bangalore Mirror had earlier reported that many residents in the city were demanding the extension.
Time of India
28-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Maheshwar Rao new BBMP chief commissioner
Bengaluru: In a major administrative reshuffle, Karnataka govt has appointed Maheshwar Rao M chief commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), replacing Tushar Giri Nath , who has been posted as additional chief secretary in the urban development department. Rao, currently managing director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation, will now hold additional charge as BBMP chief commissioner . You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Nath will concurrently hold the charge of additional chief secretary (home), and BBMP administrator, relieving Umashankar SR retiring on April 30. The notification clarifies that posts of BBMP administrator and BBMP chief commissioner are now declared equivalent in status and responsibilities to the cadre post of additional chief secretary under IAS rules.
