The BBMP, which is on a drive to regularise illegal Paying Guest (PG) accommodations if they comply with the recent guidelines issued, has now decided to grant licences to those in residential layouts as well. Till now, the civic body had been turning down such requests.
However, the move has not gone down well with resident activists who have been fighting against mushrooming PG accommodations, especially in the outer zones of the city.
The BBMP issued a new set of guidelines following the murder of a woman at a PG accommodation in Koramangala in July. It has set September 15 as deadline for PGs to comply with the guidelines and avail licence from the civic body. The PG facilities which either do not comply with the guidelines or avail a licence will face closure, the BBMP announced. While there are over 25,000 PGs in the city, only around 2,000 of them are licenced, sources said.
Suralkar Vikash Kishor, Special Commissioner (Health), BBMP, said the civic body had decided to bring PG facilities in residential areas under the licence net. “Health officers are denying licence to PG facilities in residential areas and the civic body will sensitise them on this issue,” he said. Explaining the rationale behind the decision, he said people choose to live in residential areas away from the bustle of the city and the ground reality was that many PG facilities were located in such areas.
Residents oppose
Sandeep Anirudhan, who has led multiple protests against illegal PG accommodations in Whitefield, dubbed the decision “illogical”. “Regularising PG accommodations in residential areas will only lead to further mushrooming of the facilities. Already, they are drilling several illegal borewells to supply water to a high number of occupants in a small space. This decision will further strain water resources in the areas. It will also create space crunch for parking,” he said.
Mr. Kishor said the association of those running PG facilities in the city have raised two demands – to reduce minimum living space to each occupant, currently fixed at 70 sqft, and the time till CCTV footage needs to be stored to 30 days. He said both were being considered.