K’taka HC asks BBMP to set timeline for clearing illegal religious structures

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday ordered Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike’s (BBMP) Municipal Commissioner to file an affidavit stating the timeline for clearing illegal religious structures in the city.

The division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, hearing a petition on the issue, expressed shock at the non-implementation of the Supreme Court’s 2009 order by the BBMP.

The apex court had issued an order in 2009 on illegal religious structures and had instructed high courts of all States to monitor the order’s implementation.

The BBMP on Thursday informed the court that 277 illegal religious structures had come up in Bengaluru after the 2009 order and 105 were built before that. All have been set for relocation.

379 of these are being disputed whether they were built on private or public land.

The Court directed the commissioner must submit an affidavit stating the timeline for the demolition of these structures within three weeks.