Bengaluru’s civic administration has cleaned 709 vacant plots in the past two months under its ‘Freedom from Waste’ campaign, but 533 sites still remain pending and enforcement action has begun against owners who have not maintained their properties.
The drive covers 1,242 vacant plots across areas under the Bengaluru South City Corporation, according to information reported by Vijay Karnataka. Of the 709 plots cleaned since August 1, owners cleared 668 themselves, while the civic body cleaned the remaining 41 plots.
The campaign was undertaken following directions from Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda to prevent vacant sites from becoming garbage black spots. The civic administration said waste and construction debris had been dumped at several such properties, creating cleanliness and public nuisance concerns in residential neighbourhoods.
Civic commissioner K.N. Ramesh said 372 notices had been issued to owners of vacant plots that had not been properly maintained. The administration has identified 533 plots where cleaning is still pending and said strict action would be taken against owners who continue to violate maintenance requirements.
The civic body has asked plot owners to install suitable wire fencing to prevent people from dumping garbage on their land and to maintain cleanliness regularly. Commissioner Ramesh also appealed to residents not to dispose of waste indiscriminately and to cooperate with the civic administration in keeping the city clean.
The largest number of pending sites is in the Bommanahalli division, where 221 of 498 vacant plots are yet to be cleaned. Notices have been issued to 140 owners in the division. In the Bengaluru South division, 200 of 518 plots remain pending and 93 owners have received notices.
The BTM division has 83 pending plots out of 111, with notices issued to 62 owners. Padmanabhanagar has six plots pending out of 62, while 35 owners have been issued notices. In Jayanagar, 23 of 53 plots remain to be cleaned and 42 owners have received notices.
The campaign places responsibility for preventing waste accumulation partly on private plot owners, while also allowing the civic body to intervene where sites remain neglected. The reported figures show that most of the completed cleaning was carried out by owners themselves, although the administration has also undertaken direct clearance at sites where action was required.
The civic administration’s next steps are to pursue the remaining 533 vacant plots and take action against owners who do not comply with notices. The campaign is also intended to stop vacant land from being used for the dumping of household waste and construction debris.
