Bangalore (I will gladly change the name to Namma Bengalooru once the Centre gives its permission for the name change) is witnessing some of its heaviest rains … I believe that it rained around 108 mm last Thursday (14th September 2007) and as usual the roads were clogged up with rainwater which refused to drain off well after the rains were over with. Most of this mess (the clogging up of rain water) has been rightly blamed on the man-made obstructions caused to the natural flow of rainwater that would have otherwise found its way into major water bodies and helped the rainwater drain off more quickly. Citizens and the media (who usually slumber for the rest of the year) are now asking tough questions. The BMP is sweating and in their quest to find the genesis of the problem (read scapegoats), they have declared that major obstructions including housing complexes, which have been constructed illegally atop the course of natural water bodies, must be demolished. And thus begin the demolitions in right earnest. As of today, around 11 such illegal buildings have been demolished, most of them residential.
It is a story that is not limited to Bangalore. Delhi has seen some pretty intense demolition/sealing drives against unauthorised constructions. The suburb of Ulhasnagar near Bombay also suffered a similar fate. And while there should be no leniency towards such illegal constructions, I really wonder as to who is paying for whose deeds and where does the buck stop. Reading news reports today, it was pretty apparent that the residents of these ‘illegal constructions’ were caught totally unawares that their houses were in fact unauthorised in the eyes of the law and in a few hours time, they would have no roof over their heads. And even though I have a pretty serious and uncompromising stance when it comes to issues concerning urban governance, I can’t but feel sorry for these people who are suffering for something that very honestly was not even within their control. And I’ll explain why I feel sorry for them. A couple of years ago when my sister and brother in law were scouting for a house in Bangalore, they took great pains in ensuring that they were on the right side of the law with respect to purchase of the house … which meant ensuring that the builder showed them that the ‘title’ to the land was clear… having a look at the Development Plan (DP) of the area… to ensure that the area earmarked was in fact meant for residential use. There were a couple of times when they were about to seal the deal when they realised that something was amiss… and they came pretty close to being duped …given these experiences, it took quite some time for them to satisfy themselves …and touch wood… they have a house that is not ‘illegal’, till now at least. However, what became amply clear is the fact that getting these intricate details can be an arduous task and a majority of people who buy a house are probably not aware of many of these details. Even looking at the development plan of your area is no guarantee that a space earmarked for a specific purpose is actually meant for that. It is very easy to show a wrong DP or to manipulate/misrepresent the DP in a way that can confuse the shrewdest of people.
So what I’m trying to say is that it’s next to impossible to be a 100% sure that the plot of land on which your house stands is in fact legal. One might argue that nothing in fact is a 100% and that one must satisfy oneself to a certain degree after which one must have faith in one’s actions… and while I agree with this stance, the sheer scale of racketeering in this business makes you shudder.
In the Bangalore case, it was only after the houses were demolished, did the house owners actually come to know that their apartment complex was in fact sitting atop a riverbed. And there is no way that this fact could have been omitted in a DP which clearly lays out the geographical terrain of any place and then accordingly earmarks the areas fit for development. The residents whose houses were demolished, clearly had no idea what they were in for and the DP that they had been shown at the time of construction did not highlight these facts, which is the clearest indication of collusion between builders and civic officials.
The same was the case with Delhi and Ulhasnagar. What really worries me though is the case of Bombay, cause there the problem is much greater and it is a ticking time bomb. In Bombay the DP shows huge chunks of area as being available for development (residential and commercial), however it has recently come to light that many of these areas in fact are forest land which had not been reflected in the DP. Forest land or no forest land, the truth is that these are now full fledged residential areas and the implications of declaring these constructions as illegal would be catastrophic and would probably displace 40% of Bombay’s populations… a ominous thought indeed. The truth also is that the courts will declare these constructions as illegal and all hell will break loose … a situation very similar to that in Delhi where there was full fledged rioting. It is a very scary proposition indeed and something that I would not even like to consider.
In the case of Bombay, it is quite clear that 2 departments (forest and revenue) did not talk to each other while the DP was getting made … and while this is something, which happened close to 20 years ago… it will be people who invested their hard earned money in purchasing a home who will be made to suffer. And here, the law must show compassion liberally towards house owners and in fact treat them as victims rather than criminals. In the case of Delhi and Bangalore, it is a clear instance of collusion between builders and civic authorities and here this nexus must be brought to book. In Delhi, they said that nothing could be done since the violations happened close to 2 decades ago and the government officials who allowed these violations are now long gone … some retired … some dead … and some transferred… I don’t agree and I think that these people must be held liable for their actions and an example must be set. In Bangalore, the slide is more recent and there might still be time to catch the perpetrators.
In conclusion, I think 2 things must be done… the law must really look at each case independently and not merely go by the book … and house owners must be more vigilant towards property investments … though it is a tough job as I have said earlier.
One final point that I would like to make is that, this entire mad rush for land is part of a larger malice emerging out of the ill effects of urbanisation and that needs to be addressed… though I will keep that for later.
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