Bolt from the blue: More than 800 houses under high tension power lines to be demolished in Bengaluru

This follows at least three incidents in the last three months where several people, including children, were electrocuted due to high-tension power lines over residential buildings.

Reacting to the hazards, Tushar Giri Nath, Chief Commissioner, BBMP, deemed such houses as "illegal constructions" and said that the municipal body has already stopped issuing clearances to such constructions.

Meanwhile, senior officials at Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) confirmed that notices have already been sent to some of the houses. And the department has asked electricity provider Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) to stop supplying electricity to under-construction houses under the high-tension power lines.

The identified illegal constructions are mostly located in Adugodi, Peenya, and Mahalakshmi layouts.

Back in 2019, BBMP and KPTCL had identified more than 7,000 houses in Bengaluru and slapped notices on about 2,000 of these.

A senior official at KTPCL, said, "We are constantly earmarking the illegal constructions and notifying the BBMP. However, we do not have the necessary powers to remove the encroachments."

About two years back, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) sent a notice to BBMP to submit a report regarding illegal constructions coming up under high-tension power lines.

In a written reply dated February 2021 accessed by Moneycontrol, BBMP said, "On January 10, 2020, a letter was sent to the executive engineer of BESCOM's Shivajinagar division, requesting that he take immediate and urgent steps to implement the Central Electricity Act and to report back so that BBMP could address issues such as encroachment and public buildings below high-tension lines. But the BBMP has not received any information nor reply from BESCOM."

Clearances and hazards

As per the Indian Electricity Act, buildings should maintain a horizontal distance of 1.2 metres from 11 kV lines and four metres from 66 kV lines. However, such measures are rarely followed.

Vijay Kumar, an engineer in Bengaluru, said that due to rapid urbanisation and a lack of vacant land in Bengaluru, private layouts are constantly being built across the city. "The houses are at least Rs 10-20 lakh cheaper and the land prices can go down by 30-40 percent. Most developers will take the opportunity to build smaller gated apartments, despite the notices, and exit the project, leaving the responsibility on the homebuyers," he added.

Jagjeet Reddy, a structural engineer in Bengaluru, added that in such cases there are chances of short-circuiting, especially during heavy rainfall, which can lead to fire or even fatal accidents. "Also, the exposure to severe electromagnetic radiation can lead to several health hazards, like cancer," he added.

An official at KPTCL added that the high-tension power lines are equipped with modern technologies that can trip the power supply in case it comes in contact with the ground or houses. However, there may be a delay in the disconnection, leading to the accidents, the official added.

Kumar added that power lines carrying voltages of 11 kV or less can be installed underground. However, lines carrying higher voltage need to be overhead. "The only solution here is to implement the electricity rules and regulations during construction," he added.

However, brokers in Bengaluru say, though the cheaper housing prices attract homebuyers, price appreciation is low for such properties, making it difficult to resell these properties. Sunil Singh, a broker at Realty Corp, said, "In Bengaluru, people started buying such properties about a decade ago at nominal rates of Rs 600-800 per square feet. However, now they will have to bear the cost of relocation."

Officials at KPTCL added that the department is engaged in raising awareness among homebuyers about such properties. However, the local municipal bodies should act to prevent clearances to such layouts.