Bengaluru Footpath Encroachments: Krishna Byre Gowda Orders Police-Civic Task Forces, FIRs Against Repeat Offenders
Bengaluru: Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has directed officials to form joint police-civic task forces in every city corporation to prevent re-encroachment of cleared footpaths, with FIRs, seizure of materials and higher penalties proposed against repeat offenders.
Addressing officials during a virtual meeting on footpath encroachments, the minister said cases in which encroachments return to the same locations after clearance should be treated seriously and strict legal action taken against those responsible.
He directed that a joint task force comprising police and civic officials be constituted within each city corporation. The teams should carry out regular as well as surprise inspections of cleared footpaths and take immediate action whenever re-encroachment is detected.
Officials were told to establish a system to identify re-encroachments immediately and report them with photographs and geo-tagged information. Marshals and beat police personnel should jointly conduct regular inspections, he said.
Gowda said merely reporting that an encroachment had been removed was not sufficient and stressed the need for continuous monitoring to ensure that cleared spaces were not occupied again. FIRs should be registered against repeat offenders, materials should be seized and higher penalties imposed in accordance with rules, he directed.
The minister also called for clear accountability among officials and regular review of progress reports detailing action taken against re-encroachments.
On street vending, Gowda directed officials to clearly identify roads where vending is prohibited and formally communicate the restrictions to the concerned police and civic authorities.
Necessary measures should be taken on major and high-traffic roads to ensure that pedestrian and vehicular movement is not obstructed, with priority given to smooth public movement, he said.
The minister also ordered a fresh comprehensive survey of street vendors at the earliest. Further action should be taken after the survey based on eligibility and legal criteria, he said.
Pending statutory processes related to street vending, including the constitution of Town Vending Committees, should also be completed in accordance with law, he directed.
Gowda further instructed that a joint order or circular be issued at the Chief Commissioner level covering police-civic operations, constitution of task forces, road-wise identification of jurisdiction, detection of re-encroachments and legal action.
The responsibilities and jurisdiction of individual officials should be clearly defined, and a system should be established to ensure swift action on re-encroachment cases and regular review of measures taken, he said.
Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, city corporation commissioners Ramesh D.S., Pommala Sunil Kumar, Ramesh K.N., G. Jagadish and Dr Rajendra K.V., police officials, executive engineers and other officials attended the meeting.
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