Pramesh S Jain
*Only 20% of owners responded to the deadline.
*Civic agencies directed to take up cleaning and recover costs through property tax.
*Geo-tagged before-and-after videos made mandatory.
*Clear It’ app to provide end-to-end tracking and enable citizen complaints.
Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has directed officials to identify vacant plots requiring cleaning across all five City Corporations,serve notices to their owners and take up the cleaning work promptly where owners fail to comply.
Chairing a virtual meeting on Monday to review the cleaning of vacant plots across Bengaluru,the Minister noted that plot owners had been given time until August 22 to undertake the cleaning themselves.
However,only around 20% of owners in some areas had complied with the deadline.
“Cleaning of vacant plots cannot be left to chance.The civic bodies must now identify the plots,serve notices and ensure that they are cleaned.
Wherever the civic body has to undertake the work,the cost should subsequently be recovered through the property tax,”Mr.Byre Gowda directed.
Identify plots,serve notices and begin cleaning:
Revenue officials have been directed to identify and prepare a list of vacant plots that require cleaning.
Notices should then be served on the owners by marshals and Junior Health Inspectors,following which the respective civic bodies should undertake the cleaning wherever necessary.
The Minister directed all five City Corporations to begin the cleaning drive from Thursday,with the exercise to be scaled up and implemented more intensively from the following Monday.
Prepare equipment and manpower:
The civic bodies have been asked to make all necessary arrangements, including JCBs,tippers,tractors and adequate manpower,to undertake the cleaning drive across the city.Steps should also be taken to identify agencies that can be engaged for the work,he said.
Mandatory geo-tagged video documentation:
The Minister directed officials to make before-and-after video documentation with geo-location mandatory for every vacant plot cleaned by the civic authorities.
Payments to contractors should be released only on the basis of this documented evidence,ensuring accountability and preventing inflated or unverifiable claims.
Waste must reach authorised disposal sites:
Mr.Byre Gowda also directed officials to ensure that the waste and debris generated during the cleaning process are not dumped along roadsides or on other vacant land.
The collected waste must be transported and disposed of only at officially designated disposal locations.The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited has been directed to ensure that the entire process—from identification and cleaning to waste collection and disposal—is captured on the ‘Clear It’ software.
Citizens to be able to flag uncleared plots:
The Minister further directed officials to provide citizens with an option to report vacant plots that have not been cleaned through the ‘Clear It’ app.
The necessary functionality should be developed immediately so that citizens can flag uncleared plots and help civic authorities identify locations requiring attention.
The meeting was attended by Chief Commissioner, Maheshwar Rao,City Corporation Commissioners, Ramesh D.S.,Pommala Sunil Kumar,Ramesh K.N.,G. Jagadeesh and Dr.Rajendra K.V.,Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited CEO,Karigowda,Additional Commissioners,Joint Commissioners,Deputy Commissioners,Chief Engineers and other senior officials.
