After its recent raids on pubs and bars checking for licence violations, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) now plans to take up a drive to check the licences of paying guest (PG) accommodations in the city.
For years now, citizens of Bengaluru, especially from residential areas, have complained of several issues, including that of safety and security because of the mushrooming PGs. Many have also pointed out that a lack of action from various civic agencies against unlicenced PGs have also created revenue losses to the government.
“The category under which PGs fall is unclear. In 2014-15 itself, we raised issues about solid waste management from PGs as there was confusion around whether they are bulk generators or not. Eventually an order was issued calling them bulk generators, but there are not many clarifications around that,” said a member of Whitefield Rising.
He added there are revenue losses from multiple angles. “The BBMP does not mandate for them to apply for a trade licence. Since they advertise publicly, they should register under the Shops and Establishments Act and pay a fee for that. Moreover, they pay no commercial tax.“
He also said that in a new trend in the last few years in and around Mahadevapura, where owners of large land parcels, instead of getting approvals from the BBMP or the BDA under ‘A’ khata, divide it into smaller parcels and get ‘B’ khata and build PGs without plan sanction. “Common resources like electricity and water are leveraged to the maximum by PGs without having to pay commercial taxes, garbage cess or any other commercial fees for Bescom or BWSSB,” he said.
Residents of Koramangala, where there are many PGs catering to students and working professionals, also raised similar issues. “Koramangala is designed for single dwelling units and the sewage systems are not designed to handle so many people staying at one place (in PGs). This is why it is crumbling and falling all over the place,” said Nitin Seshadri, citizen activist from Koramangala.
Many residents also have a problem with random people frequenting the PGs, even in the late hours of the night. “The sanctity of residential areas is getting disturbed by these establishments, as we would not know who has entered or who has exited the area until there is an untoward incident. This also drives up the crime rates. Although the PGs are required to register at police stations before providing services, most do not do it,” said Sneha Nandihal of I Change Indiranagar.
She also said that following an untoward incident, residents applied an RTI to find out how many PGs in the area are registered with the police, but the officers were hesitant to provide the same.
K.V. Thrilok Chandra, Special Commissioner (Health), BBMP, said that citizens can raise issues pertaining to commercial violations and public advertising without permission with the Town Planning Department.
“We are currently focusing on bars and pubs functioning without valid licences. Shortly, we will take up a drive on PG accommodations to see if they have licences or not.”
Published - November 13, 2023 08:37 pm IST
