The Karnataka government on Monday this week demarcated the ‘influence zone’ of the Bengaluru Metro “keeping in view of the safety of the structures.” In a notification, the urban development department said “11 metres of width in plan from the outer edge of the underground structures (tunnel, ramp, station) on either side” will be influence zone.
No new construction of structures, drilling of boreholes, demolitions/modifications/alterations of the existing structures in the influence zone will be allowed without the BMRCL’s consent. Whoch means from now on, property owners near Bangalore Metro underground stations may have to get No Objection Certificate (NOC) from BMRCL for building plans.
“The NOC is mandatory for according statutory approvals from BDA, BBMP and BWSSB or such agencies,” it stated. BMRCL has uploaded the map of the influence zone of phase 1 underground stations on its website (bmrc.co.in).
“If a house is built, borewell is drilled or deep mechanised excavation is done close to Metro tunnel, they can lead to accidents. In Delhi, such regulation was done much earlier,” BMRCL managing director Ajay Seth said, adding that there will be separate regulation for elevated sections.
Namma Metro operates a 42-km network and construction of 72km, including the underground section of Gottigere-Nagawara corridor, is under progress. It is also facing land acquisition issues at Langford station, Vellara Junction and Tannery Road.