GBA warns civic agencies against unauthorised road-cutting

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has warned civic agencies against cutting roads without prior permission, stating that violations would attract penalties and criminal cases.

In a review and coordination meeting on Friday, GBA Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao said officials of Bescom, KPTCL, BWSSB, and GAIL must strictly follow the prescribed approval process. “Any department found cutting roads in the GBA limits without authorisation would face fines and legal action,” he said.

Mr. Rao underlined that permission must be obtained through the ‘Marks’ software. He cautioned departments against bypassing the system and directed the officials of the city corporations to promptly scrutinise applications received on the platform and issue approvals without delay.

To improve coordination and reduce disruption, the Chief Commissioner instructed all departments to prepare and submit advance lists of proposed road-cutting works. He also asked them to map the roads identified for cutting on Google Maps, clearly indicating the length of each stretch, and share the information with all city corporations.

Calling for faster implementation of last-mile connectivity projects, Mr. Rao said several works had already begun under the NCAP funding. He directed the officials to ensure timely completion of supporting infrastructure, including BMTC feeder bus services, parking facilities, skywalks, and bus shelters, within the stipulated deadlines.

To improve pedestrian infrastructure, he asked the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited to procure five water jetting machines, one for each city corporation, for regular cleaning of footpaths across the city.

With white-topping works progressing in many parts of Bengaluru, Mr. Rao noted that delays were occurring at some locations due to pending approvals from the BWSSB and the Traffic Police. He directed officials to prepare a list of such problematic stretches.

Mr. Rao directed the officials to identify where metro corridors have illegal parking problems and submit a list in this regard.