Prestige Estate Projects Ltd., a Bengaluru-based real estate developer, denied allegations made by a Karnataka government minister that one of its buildings was built by encroaching a storm water drain and therefore will be demolished as part of the ongoing drive to reclaim public land in the city.
"We are completely unaware which building is being referred to...We are always open to getting ourselves audited at any point in time," Irfan Razzack, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company said, in response to the allegation, according to the Bangalore Mirror.
Earlier in the day, TB Jayachandra, the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Karnataka, had told reporters that an apartment complex in Bellandur was encroaching a storm water drain and will have to be razed.
"During our visit to Challaghatta valley in Bellandur, it was brought to our notice that a 150-foot-wide SWD was reduced to 10ft. We probed the issue and found that Prestige Group has come up with a huge apartment complex. I immediately directed the BBMP commissioner to demolish the structure," he said after a state Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
If the demolition happens, it would be the first structure constructed by a prominent developer to be brought down.
Overall, 141 houses have been demolished and land measuring 29.8 acres recovered in the latest demolition, Jayachandra said, adding that the demolitions are in accordance with a Karnataka High Court order issued five years ago.
The current drive to remove encroachments will be confined to those on live storm water drains, and illegal construction on lakebeds and forest lands are out of the purview for the time being, Jayachandra said.
Besides residential buildings, shopping malls and tech parks are also under scanner. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has identified 244 public roads and 935 agricultural plots and vacant housing sites as encroachments.
Two prominent shopping malls — Orion Mall and Gopalan Arcade — are also being talked about in the city as having constructed their buildings by encroaching storm water drains, though both have denied the charges.
