The demand for affordable housing, thanks to the influx of young IT professionals, has fueled the unchecked growth of these PGs. Basic safety norms, such as setbacks, parking spaces, and fire safety measures, are frequently ignored. How can it be addressed?
Published Sep 08, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 08, 2024 | 12:00 PM
PGs Off Nallurhalli main road. (Nolan Patrik Pinto/ South First)
Whitefield, one of Bengaluru’s prominent IT hubs, is witnessing a surge in unauthorised Paying Guest (PG) accommodations that are turning into a ticking time bomb. Built on divided land parcels, constructed like a stack of cards with barely a foot’s distance between them, these PGs house hundreds of young people in cramped spaces.
Areas like Prashant Layout, White Rose Layout, D’Silva Layout, Upkar Layout, and Nallurhalli Road have seen a sharp rise in illegal PG constructions, with more still under development.
The lack of proper regulation has created a chaotic environment, leaving residents vulnerable to safety hazards, especially fire risks.
The demand for affordable housing, thanks to the influx of young IT professionals, has fueled the growth of these PGs, unchecked by the abject failure of the Planning and Governance apparatus.
Many citizens claim that there is zero governance in Bengaluru and everyone violates bye laws with impunity. Basic safety norms, such as setbacks, parking spaces, and fire safety measures, are frequently ignored. This has turned Whitefield’s residential layouts into clusters of unsafe, overcrowded accommodations, leaving the local community on edge.
Google Earth image of D’Silva Layout, Whitefield. (Supplied)
Multiple paying guest (PG) buildings are being hastily constructed side by side, leaving almost no space between them. With barely a foot separating the structures, the cramped conditions have raised alarm bells among residents.
Many of these buildings on small sites, have maximum number of cramped rooms on each floor, shared by two-four individuals each. In a typical six-floor building, this means an average of 100-120 people residing in each structure.
With several PG buildings standing in a single row, a minimum of some 450-500 residents live in extremely congested quarters on each street.
Google Earth image of Prashanth Layout Extension, Whitefield. (Supplied)
Prashanth Layout near Hope Farm junction in Whitefield is a live example – a peaceful residential layout housing about 250 families, is now home to an estimated 25,000-strong PG resident population, increasing the population pressure on the layout by 25 times.
This has led to a crumbling of amenities and quality of life, and overcrowding of unimaginable proportion. This situation has edged out all the families, as they could not bear the deterioration of the layout.
Google Earth image of White Rose Layout, Whitefield. (Supplied)
Residents of the PGs, struggling with the lack of space, are often found spending their evenings and nights outside, only returning to sleep. This has led to an increase in late-night activity in the area, with illegal shops and hotels cropping up, which further violate regulations, and remain open until the early hours of the morning. Local residents have lodged multiple complaints with authorities regarding the noise and disruption, but to no avail.
Safety concerns are growing in the area as well. The narrow access roads, barely wide enough for a small car and a bike to pass at the same time, pose a significant problem for emergency services. In the event of a fire, a fire tender would face considerable difficulty in reaching the scene.
Google Earth image of Nallurhalli main road, Whitefield. (Supplied)
To add to the danger, buildings are constructed so closely together that many fear a domino effect could occur, causing the fire to spread rapidly from one building to another, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Some fear that if there is a fire incident in even one building, the entire layout will go up in flames.
Despite repeated warnings and requests from locals, the authorities have yet to take substantial action to address these concerns.
The problem stems from the Karnataka Fire Force (Amendment) Act, 2023, which came into effect on 24 March. This amendment requires buildings over 21 meters in height to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire and Emergency Services Department.
However, many of these PG accommodations are being built just under the 21-meter threshold, allowing them to bypass the critical fire safety regulations that apply to taller structures.
PGs opposite Kadugodi Tree Park Metro station. (Nolan Patrick Pinto/ South First)
Koshy Varghese, Director of VDB Property Ventures and a Whitefield resident, has been vocal about the growing menace. Addressing Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar via X, Varghese warned of a potential disaster, similar to the Kuwait fire tragedy, looming over Whitefield due to the lack of fire safety approvals for these buildings.
“Any fire that has to be fought can be fought up to 15 meters from inside, and after that, it has to be fought from outside,” Koshy told South First. “The reason why the National Building Code mandates fire clearance for buildings over 15 meters is because of safety concerns. Exempting buildings under 21 meters from fire clearance is a recipe for disaster.”
Koshy points out that many PG owners intentionally design their buildings just below 21 meters to avoid fire NOCs, exploiting the loophole in the law.
“I think they all sit within the 21-meter limit so that nobody can question them on Fire NOCs. If you look at them, almost all of them are of the same height. This keeps them away from Fire NOCs. Fire safety clearance is among the most stringent of the NOCs that a builder has to obtain before getting approval, it makes it easy if the Fire NOC is out of the window,” he added.
Karnataka High Court guidelines to BBMP (South First)
Sandeep Anirudhan, Convenor of Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru, has been fighting to bring attention to the illegalities rampant in Whitefield. “The 2023 Fire Force Amendment is a clear example of pandering to vested interests,” Sandeep said. “Now, developers can construct buildings up to six floors without any NOC, further encouraging unsafe and illegal development.”
Sandeep also says, “What we are seeing is the outcome of failure of the state to regulate development. These are basically unplanned developments. All the layouts where you see these PG slums in are illegal layouts. They are created without approvals from BDA. These people take a random piece of land, bifurcate the sites and provide no amenities that a BDA approved site will have. These sites become crowded with narrow streets and no amenities, eventually it will be overburdened. That is why it becomes a slum,” he told South First.
But how do they get away with all these illegalities? “The Department of Registration and Stamps does not insist on any evidence that it is a BDA approved layout before registering a bifurcated site. If there is fire even in one building, you will see that an entire layout will go up in flames. They have not left any setbacks and even to fight fires, fire fighters will not have space to do so,” he said.
Karnataka High Court guidelines to BBMP. (South First)
A long-time resident and activist from Nallurhalli Road expressed frustration over the authorities’ inaction. “Tech has been the boon and bane of Whitefield. The issue of PG slums is very disheartening and depressing to say the very least because it encroaches on my rights and being an honest tax paying citizen, why should I waste my productive hours running after government officials to do their job?,” she questions.
She added that, “Nobody seems to be bothered about the health hazards of having these PG slums. What happens if there is a fire? How are they going to curtail this? There are no setbacks, nothing. The day landowners are held responsible for what happens, Whitefield will have a solution.”
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has admitted to its limited control over the situation. According to BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath, most of these developments are located in revenue layouts, meaning they are not approved by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and fall under B Khata properties.
“In Mahadevapura, most of them are revenue layouts. They do not even bother to take NOC because they know that they cannot be given a building plan and they are all B Khatas, they are revenue sites. They are just mushrooming. We are saying, we can’t act as if we are blind, we can’t give anything since it is an illegal building so you are B Khata, you can pay the property tax but it is not an A building. So, they continuously keep on building any number of floors they want because they are not bothered and they don’t have to get NOC, so they all become illegal, ” Girinath told South First.
Despite recognising the issue, BBMP has yet to take meaningful action. “We need to do something to close these illegal buildings,” Girinath added, though no immediate solutions were proposed.
With local authorities slow to act, Whitefield may be heading toward a disaster that could have been avoided. For now, the fight continues, with residents like Koshy Varghese and Sandeep Anirudhan working tirelessly to bring attention to the issue. But with every new PG that goes up without proper oversight, the threat to the community grows larger.
(Edited by Neena)
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