Bengaluru: Minister pulls up officials over waste disposal, re-encroachment

The Minister was inspecting areas surrounding the Hebbal flyover as part of the ‘Freedom from Waste’ campaign on Friday.

Updated - September 18, 2026 10:47 pm IST - Bengaluru

Krishna Byre Gowda. | Photo Credit: File photo

Taking on officials once again, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda asked officials from the Bengaluru North City Corporation whether they were serving the public or siding with the contractor over waste disposal.

The Minister was inspecting areas surrounding the Hebbal flyover as part of the ‘Freedom from Waste’ campaign on Friday (September 18), when he directed officials in the corporation on maintaining public spaces and keeping them free of waste.

During a virtual meeting later in the day, the Minister also directed civic officials to ensure that footpaths cleared of encroachments do not get occupied again, asking them to form joint teams with the police to monitor the stretches and take action against repeat offenders.

After the Minister was informed that encroachments along 1,373.32 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads have been cleared across five city corporations, he said the focus should now be on preventing the cleared stretches from returning to their earlier condition.

Seize material, register FIRs

Even as street vendors have been demanding that a fresh survey be conducted and vending zones be identified before removing them, the Minister directed officials to register FIRs, seize materials and impose higher penalties on repeat offenders wherever permitted under law.

Inspecting roads near J.P. Nagar Metro station at night, the Minister said he had specifically chosen to inspect the area at night to check whether the street lights were functioning. He said he had repeatedly instructed officials that contractors should be penalised, and officials held accountable, if street lights were not working properly. He added that the area was important as many people use the Metro, and therefore it needed to be well lit. “Despite giving instructions so many times, this is still not the case,” he said.

On road maintenance, he pointed out that some drains had been left open and, at some places, slabs had been placed one over another. “It is common sense. Officials should use common sense,” he said, adding that such basic issues could lead to accidents and should be treated as the officials’ responsibility, especially since they could easily be spotted easily, and hence officials should prioritise these works

Published - September 18, 2026 09:42 pm IST

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