Infrastructure

A screenshot of the Mandur countdown timer as on September 4th, 10:20 am. Less than 57 days for the Mandur landfill to shut down. The government seems to have no visible plan as to how to handle the piles of garbage that will still need to go somewhere. The people supposed to be on top of the situation are still waiting for the system to evolve, by when we will probably see the evolution of a new species from tons of rotting garbage! India does not have excess of space for landfills like the US or some other countries. Landfills…

Citizen Matters is creating a map to track the amount of money people of Bengaluru spend on water tankers in the city. This map aims to give information about water tanker rates across the city of Bangalore. This will also give an insight into the availability (or lack of) water in these areas. If someone is charging you heavily, you will know it by looking at the map. Click on a map pin and the relevant information for that area will pop up. Also the map will show how much people are paying in another area. You can compare the…

Love them or hate them, apartment residents cannot survive without them. Pic: Sankar C G Most Management Committee members of apartment complexes in Bengaluru are familiar with water problems — many of them find themselves in an unenviable tight corner between water tanker vendors and demanding residents!. Who are these water vendors? For a scholarly understanding of 'water tanker mafia', see this article. It would seem that vendors are a privileged set of a few who have nearly unlimited access to the most exploited resource in the city - ground water, and have made a livelihood/business out of it. In…

Checking the zonal map of Whitefield area can help finding out some violations. Courtesy: clearvalue.in To understand why some of the confusions arise and why getting Khata is not easy sometimes, knowing the background is important. Here is some backround to the whole issue. Till the late nineties, if I remember correctly, Whitefield was a Gram Panchayat. The administration of Gram Panchayats is governed by the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act 1993. Under this Act, the Panchayats are also empowered to collect property taxes. For this purpose, Whitefield Gram Panchayat used to maintain Khata registers. Older residents of Whitefield have copies…

Although almost all the consumers in Bengaluru who purchase flats and apartments are concerned about A or B khata, they do not bother to verify whether the property purchased by them has a valid Completion certificate / Occupancy certificate. In simple terms, the absence of a valid Completion certificate / Occupancy certificate, means that the building may not have been built as per approved plan, and the threat of demolition of unauthorised structure looms large. Further, if you want to sell or hypothecate the property after a lapse of say 10 years, you will not be able to do so,…

High Court of Karnataka (HC) has ordered all the local planning authorities to sanction layouts development plans only if they earmark a dedicated area for managing their own solid waste generated in their layout and nearby localities. The order came during a hearing of Solid Waste Management (SWM) Public Interest Litigation, when advocate Ajesh Shankar brought to the notice of the HC that a Civic Amenity site allocated for a waste processing facility in a BDA layout at Kengeri-hobli was encroached by some parties. Taking cognizance of this, the HC Bench comprising of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice N…

It's raining now and then, and in all likelihood you have forgotten how difficult was to get water during last dry summer, in Bengaluru. However, those days are not to be forgotten, as Bengaluru is already drawing excess water from Cauvery river, and problems are bound to be there even in future. Every drop you save today will help you tomorrow. Here are 21 ways to conserve water at home/ apartment. These tips have been shared by our reader, Anup Jose A. 1. Fix the leaks. Whether you do it yourself or hire a plumber, fixing leaky faucets can mean…

Lack of occupancy certifcate might mean your dreamhome might have certain violations too. File pic. “We are happy to inform you that your dream home is ready for possession and registration. Handover & registration process will be initiated on receipt of the balance payment. We wish you a comfortable stay in your new apartment.”  This is the news you have been waiting for! Ever since the day that you booked the apartment, three years ago, you have been saving and planning to fulfil the dream of your very own home. This email is soon followed by the Final Payment Request Letter…

Trucks that don't exist in reality are added to garbage transport database of BBMP by adding random numbers, which sometimes include two-wheelers and buses! Pic: Shree D N First the High Court, then the Chief Minister. Now it is the turn of Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of Karnataka to point fingers at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s garbage management. CAG has noted that BBMP has spent more than the amount allotted towards Solid Waste Management expenses; At the same time, BBMP has lost more than 66 crores by not collecting cess in 2008-11 from 18.38 lakh households! In the CAG Report…

X orders more coffee. He has made his point. But who is in charge – surely there must be someone in charge? I ask. Before plunging in to fix this corner themselves, X and V have done some basic asking around. The question they had was simple – So who’s really in charge of the street in Bangalore? They found that there was no single person or authority. And that is why the streets are such a mess. There is a maze of authorities in charge of different aspects of Bangalore’s civic infrastructure, each of which is a law unto…