Author: Raoji

if you are contemplating buying an apartment on the city outskirts of Bangalore, it’s better to abandon the plan.
This cautionary advice comes from none other than V Balasubramaniam, additional chief secretary (retired), who in many forums has spoken about the impending water crisis staring Bangalore. And Balasubramaniam has a point.

Around 90 residential projects slated to come up on the outskirts are either getting delayed or not taking off for their failure to get the ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

The BWSSB has stopped issuing the NOC for major residential projects in BBMP limits, citing builders’ failure to identify a water source to supply water to the apartments.

T Venkataraju, chief engineer, BWSSB, said they were withholding issuing the NOC to builders planning apartments in areas where there was no infrastructure to supply water.

As per norms, without the NOC residential projects will not be granted environmental clearance from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, without which the builder cannot start the construction work.

According to Balasubramaniam, the BWSSB has provided water connections to only seven lakh houses, while the total number of properties, excluding the apartments that have sprung up recently, in the city is 18 lakh. “Supplying drinking water to thousands of apartments on the outskirts or in the newly added areas of the BBMP will be a daunting task for the BWSSB,’’ Balasubramaniam said.

Advising public not to invest their hard-earned money in apartments on the outskirts, Balasubramaniam said builders will bear no responsibility after handing over the apartments to their customers. “Getting clean water will be a problem. They can’t rely on borewell water since groundwater has been contaminated,’’ he said.-from DNA