Bengaluru’s urban flood resilience faces renewed scrutiny as a long-pending survey by the district administration has confirmed 416 encroachments on the city’s stormwater drain (SWD) network across four key zones.
The findings come as a wake-up call for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which now bears the responsibility of initiating eviction and demolition of illegal structures choking critical water channels just weeks ahead of the monsoon. The survey was initiated in response to severe flooding in 2022, when unprecedented rainfall submerged several parts of the city. While over 1,000 complaints were initially registered concerning suspected encroachments, only 416 have been verified so far. A further 607 cases are under review, and officials indicate that more illegal structures could be identified pending detailed investigation.
Under current regulations, the onus now lies with the BBMP to act on the confirmed encroachments. Civic authorities have been urged to serve notices, seek police support where necessary, and proceed with on-ground demolition operations. However, delays in implementing past recommendations have cast doubts over the city’s institutional readiness to prevent a repeat of past urban flooding disasters. Experts familiar with the issue warn that the presence of encroachments has significantly reduced the city’s ability to handle stormwater runoff. According to civic officials, illegal constructions built directly over or adjacent to SWDs are reducing water flow capacity, causing backflow, stagnation, and contamination of adjacent lakes. Notably, water bodies like Bellandur and Varthur, once ecological assets, have now become symbols of neglect—frequently catching fire, frothing due to chemical-laced discharge, and overflowing during rains.
Environmental experts point to systemic apathy as the root cause of the crisis. Multiple agencies, including the revenue and forest departments, the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (KTCDA), and the BBMP’s lake and SWD wings, all claim jurisdiction over Bengaluru’s water systems. This overlapping authority has led to a diffusion of accountability, allowing illegal constructions to persist and proliferate. Activists argue that a lack of updated and accessible land and drainage maps has only exacerbated the situation. Revenue maps from the late 19th century provide a clearer picture of Bengaluru’s extensive network of rajakaluves (primary SWDs), which once spanned 10 to 50 metres in width. In contrast, today’s records often fail to reflect these details, enabling vested interests to manipulate land-use designations. What once were natural stormwater corridors have been narrowed to barely one or two metres and subsequently encroached upon.
Environmental and civic advocacy groups have urged the BBMP to act decisively, with full transparency in implementation. They demand that demolition orders be swiftly executed, and that structural reforms be introduced to prevent future encroachments. Experts caution that unless the current encroachments are cleared and the natural flow of SWDs restored, the city could face worsening flood events, compounded by changing rainfall patterns linked to climate change. Bengaluru’s vulnerability is further heightened by rapid urbanisation and inadequate drainage planning. The unchecked conversion of wetlands, buffer zones, and lakebeds into real estate projects continues despite regulations, with little enforcement. Even in newly developed tech corridors, where urban design is expected to be state-of-the-art, complaints about blocked drains and waterlogging persist.
While the identification of 416 confirmed encroachments is a significant milestone, its impact will depend entirely on the BBMP’s willingness and capacity to act. With monsoon clouds already gathering on the horizon, public pressure is mounting on civic authorities to move beyond surveys and deliver tangible results on the ground. In a city where short bursts of rain often translate into long hours of gridlock and property damage, the stakes are high. Bengaluru’s ability to uphold its status as a global innovation and IT hub hinges as much on flood resilience as on digital infrastructure. A failure to prioritise stormwater management now could prove costly—not just in crores lost to property damage, but in human lives and civic trust.
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