The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has been issued with multiple notices by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) over the construction of a building in the city’s CV Raman Nagar. According to the BBMP, the building may hinder future road-widening projects on CV Raman Road. The IISc was reportedly unresponsive to the civic body’s notices, the first one being issued in December 2020 and the latest one in February.
The latest notice cited section 299 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, which states, “If any person intends to construct or reconstruct a building, he shall send to the commissioner an application in writing for permission to execute the work together with a site plan of the land, elevation and sections of the building, a specification of the work and such other documents as may be prescribed.” BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad told Deccan Herald that he “believes the building to be an illegal structure as no building plans have been sanctioned as per the KMC Act.”
The issue was brought to light on February 19, during Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan’s review of works, when the minister directed the BBMP Commissioner to issue the latest notice to IISc. During the meeting, Manjunath Prasad reportedly said, “The BBMP has already issued a notice but work is still going on. I will personally serve the notice.”
During a virtual meeting held on December 16, 2020 between the BBMP and IISc, administrators from IISc purportedly cited an order from February 10, 1996 to support their argument that no permission is required to construct the building. However, the BBMP countered that building licenses are not exempt of zoning regulations, even if the land belongs to the state or Union government. Dr B G Raghavendra Prasad, Joint Director of Town Planning (South), BBMP also reminded IISc that the land in question was designated for road widening projects in the Revised Master Plan of 2015.
The land in question stretches from the Sadashivnagar police station to the CV Raman Junction.