Minister warns officials of disciplinary action as 300 km of footpath encroachments remain

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Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday warned officials of disciplinary action if they were found negligent in taking steps to clear garbage, vacant sites, abandoned vehicles and footpath encroachments across Bengaluru.

Mr. Gowda warned that outsourced personnel, if found negligent, would be removed from service.

Reviewing the progress of the civic drives, the Minister said encroachments had been cleared from 1,211 km of footpaths so far, but around 300 km were still pending. He said the pace of the drive had slowed and directed the officials to speed up the remaining work within the given deadline.

Mr. Gowda said the Freedom from Waste campaign would continue without a deadline, and it should not be restricted to large piles of construction and demolition waste but should focus equally on small piles of garbage lying along roadsides, besides overgrown vegetation and bushes.

The Minister reviewed the removal of abandoned vehicles from the city. The officials had earlier been instructed to record complaints about abandoned vehicles on the ASTRAM software platform and take action, but several vehicles had still not been issued notices or entered into the system. Noting the same, Mr. Gowda warned that the officials who failed to act would face disciplinary action.

“From identifying an abandoned vehicle and issuing a notice to registering it on the ASTRAM and disposing of it, every step must be completed according to procedure,“ he said.

Mr. Gowda pointed that vehicles seized by the traffic police often remain near police stations because of pending court cases. “The Revenue Department is identifying land that can be used as dedicated location for confiscated vehicles, which will then be shifted to these locations once the sites are finalised,” he said.

The north corporation has added two more ‘Prahari’ vehicles to monitor illegal dumping of garbage. The vehicles, which will patrol the city round the clock, are fitted with GPS-enabled cameras at the front and rear to record violations. People dumping garbage or construction debris on roadsides, vacant sites and other public spaces in north Bengaluru will get caught in the cameras.

North Corporation Commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar launched the two new vehicles on Saturday, and with this, the fleet has now got four ‘Prahari’ vehicles.

“The cameras will record photographs and videos along with time and location of the violation. This will help officials identify the person, establishment or vehicle responsible for dumping waste and take action, including imposing penalties,” Mr. Kumar said.

The vehicles will operate 24 hours a day in two shifts. A total of 24 personnel, including drivers and marshals, have been deployed. The location and movement of the four vehicles will be monitored by the corporation’s control room and officials through an app-based system.

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