Bengaluru South Corporation launches 20-day drive against commercial activities in residential areas

BENGALURU: Bengaluru South City Corporation Commissioner KN Ramesh on Monday launched a 20-day drive against illegal commercial activities in residential areas. The move comes in the backdrop of the Karnataka High Court, based on writ petitions (3676/2008 and 43472-43474/2011), issued guidelines restricting commercial activities in residential/semi-residential areas in all roads less than 40 feet wide. The process of verification of licences of authorised and unauthorised commercial enterprises will start from November 17 to curb commercial activities in residential areas. Senior health inspectors and health supervisors are instructed by the corporation to collect the details of all businesses coming in the prescribed wards on a daily basis and fill in the prescribed form and provide information, said Ramesh. He said senior health inspectors and health supervisors will collect information from entrepreneurs about whether businesses that have obtained a licence during the on-site inspection are running the business according to the rules and whether they are paying the correct property tax. This verification process started from today (Monday) and will continue for the next 20 days. Action will be taken to recover the revised amount as per rules from the entrepreneurs paying tax amount less than the prescribed amount and action will be taken against businesses running illegally and against zonal classification as ordered by the high court, he said.