Bengaluru | September 6, 2026
The Greater Bengaluru Authority has imposed a Rs 3-lakh penalty on the consultant and contractor responsible for what officials described as the improper installation of electricity poles at Palace Guttahalli Junction on Bengaluru’s airport road.
The action followed an inspection ordered by Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda after he noticed the pole installation while travelling along Ballari Road on July 31. He directed officials to examine the work and ensure that the poles complied with the approved design and technical specifications.
Senior officials from Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd, also known as B-SMILE, and the GBA conducted a detailed inspection on September 3. According to officials, the inspection found that the poles had been installed in an “unscientific manner” and in violation of the prescribed design and technical specifications.
The authority has imposed a Rs 1-lakh penalty on project consultant Siddhishakti Pvt Ltd and a Rs 2-lakh penalty on contractor JMC Constructions. The penalties were issued for lapses in quality control and failure to follow the required technical standards, officials said.
The case places responsibility on both the consultant overseeing the project and the contractor carrying out the installation. The GBA’s action also links the quality-control failure to the physical execution of works along a major road corridor leading towards Kempegowda International Airport.
The agencies have been directed to remove the improperly installed poles immediately and reinstall them in accordance with the prescribed standards. The corrective work is intended to bring the installation into compliance with the approved design and technical specifications.
The authority’s intervention followed the minister’s direction for an on-site review rather than a routine project update. The inspection by GBA and B-SMILE officials subsequently identified the installation and quality-control lapses cited in the penalty order, according to the report.
Officials did not provide details in the report on the number of poles affected, the total project cost, the exact nature of the design violation or the deadline for completing the reinstallation. The immediate next step is the removal and reinstallation of the poles by the agencies involved, as directed by the GBA.
