Bengaluru's Phoenix Mall of Asia back in business, accountability under spotlight

While the civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), requires developers to submit a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to the Traffic Police and obtain an NOC, it is not mandatory.

However, in the High Court, senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, representing the mall, stated in the petition that the blame for the situation was placed on the police. "CCTV footage has revealed that the traffic disruption caused by vehicles was not due to the petitioner but was mainly a result of the police blocking vehicle entry, leading to a jam outside the mall." The petition also alleged that the police have not responded to the petitioner's suggestions made in October regarding traffic management.

The mall management was unavailable for comment. A spokesperson said they will share a statement after the court hearing on January 5.

RK Misra, a noted urban expert, said that closing or rather restricting an ongoing business is a very tough decision, but the problem is genuinely and acutely severe in this case. "The local area impact study on traffic or the environment was not properly done or is faulty. BBMP has a traffic cell that also studies the traffic impact. In Bengaluru, traffic itself is causing a lot of environmental issues."

Urban mobility expert Ashwin Mahesh said that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is the main culprit. "In Bengaluru, there are 47 planning districts, and each is supposed to have a separate map to develop a town planning scheme. Without a proper town planning scheme for the area around the mall, this problem cannot be fixed. It indicates that the master plans we have developed are neither adequate nor being properly implemented."

An online petition launched on Change.org on December 21 titled 'Massive traffic Jam due to unplanned 'Mall of Asia,' impacting neighboring residential areas,' received 4,331 signatures.

Police order 

In an order dated December 30, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda invoked sections 144(1) and 144(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, restricting public access to Phoenix Mall of Asia on Bellari Road, Byatarayanapura, Yelahanka, from 10 am on December 31 to 11:59 pm on January 15, 2024. The move aims "to prevent annoyance and disturbance to public tranquillity and provide a safe environment for traffic and the public at large," according to the order.

On Christmas Eve, there was huge traffic congestion on Bellari Road (Airport Road) in North Bengaluru, with crowds thronging Phoenix Mall of Asia near Yelahanka. This forced the traffic police to issue an advisory. Users also claimed that the mall imposed a fee of Rs 200 for pedestrian entry and Rs 150 for cars.

HC intervention

In a special hearing held on Sunday, the Karnataka High Court stated that the prohibitory order imposed by the Bangalore City Police Commissioner shall neither be treated as an order completely prohibiting or preventing the use of the mall for its business purposes nor as completely prohibiting and preventing the public from having access to it.

A vacation bench of Justice MGS Kamal passed the order on a petition filed by Sparkle One Mall Developers Pvt Ltd, which manages the Phoenix Mall of Asia. The court ordered that the police should not take any precipitative action against the mall until the matter is resolved amicably or further orders are passed by the court at the next date of hearing.

Senior Advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, representing the company, argued that the prohibitory order is unconstitutional as it amounts to closing down the mall and the businesses of shops within it. However, the court suggested that both parties try to explore a mutually agreeable solution. Chinnappa said that the company would voluntarily close the mall for a day on December 31 (Sunday).

The High Court also directed the petitioner and the police to explore possibilities at the earliest and submit a report on January 2. A meeting between the police and mall management took place on Sunday. On January 1, senior police officials, BBMP), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, and others visited the mall to address the issues and submit a report to the court.

The High Court of Karnataka adjourned further hearing until January 5. This decision came on January 2 after the police requested additional time for discussions with the mall management, as previously suggested by the court, to address the issue

Inadequate parking

Citing the Kambala event organised in November, which drew more than two lakh visitors to Palace Grounds, Anucheth said, "We facilitated parking for 10,000 vehicles, including 6,000 cars and 4,000 two-wheelers, ensuring no traffic issues. Phoenix Mall of Asia draws around 10,000 vehicles, but parking capacity is only for 3,200 vehicles," said Anucheth.

In an order, Commissioner Dayananda said that they have also communicated with BBMP along with a request to withdraw/cancel the partial Occupancy Certificate (OC) issued to the mall.

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Commissioner N Jayaram were unavailable to comment.

According to the partial OC issued by BBMP, the mall is described as a 12-storey building (including two basement floors) with a total area of 86,421 square meters from the ground floor to the third floor. However, the mall only has two basements to park 2,324 cars and two-wheelers. Due to the inadequate parking space within the mall premises, approximately 2,000 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers were haphazardly parked in the surrounding areas and roads outside the mall. The order stated that there is a need to provide parking space for at least 10,000 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers.

Experts speak

Mahesh suggested that the police should insist on a town planning scheme for every planning district in the city. "Police should mandate that approvals for all large establishments beyond 20,000 square feet be put on hold until the town planning schemes for each planning district are completed. Only then should the approval process begin."

In Bengaluru, many commercial establishments are also not linked to transit stations. Misra pointed out that Metro stations are not being planned on the premises of malls or tech parks. "In Phoenix Marketcity at Whitefield, a Metro station should have been placed in front of the mall, benefiting a lot of people. There is also no direct foot-overbridge connectivity between the mall and the existing Singayyanapalya Metro station. Neither Metro nor mall management thought of providing direct connectivity from the station. Metro stations are finalised due to political pressure, but the traffic origination and destination patterns are different. In Kadubeesanahalli on Outer Ring Road too, the proposed Metro station is around 500 metres away from Prestige Tech Park. In Dubai, the Dubai Mall is connected to the Metro station by an 820-metre walkway, and such practices should be emulated here," said Misra.

Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport and Road Safety, WRI India, an NGO and one of the organisers of the #Personal2Public campaign, said, "In the case of Phoenix Mall of Asia, the projected number of visitors and parking spaces have exceeded the capacity, especially when events like India's tallest Christmas tree are conducted, leading to additional footfall in addition to regular crowd."

"For the Bangalore Literature Festival at The Lalit Ashok, organisers arranged a free shuttle bus service between Vidhana Soudha metro station and the venue, resulting in around 30 percent of people using public transport. In addition to this, many people reached venue by cabs and auto-rickshaws. When the police grant approvals for special events/programmes, they should ensure that the modal share of public transport is atleast 30-50 percent. Since there are no Metro stations near this mall, at least create parking spaces in nearby open grounds and operate shuttle services to the mall, which will reduce the number of private vehicles, especially cars," said Alavilli.

MN Srihari, a traffic and transportation engineering expert, however, stated that illegal parking is the primary reason for congestion near Phoenix Mall of Asia. "The traffic police should launch a crackdown on vehicles illegally parked on either side of the road to alleviate the traffic woes."