Bengaluru: Nearly half of private paying guest accommodations (PGs) in east Bengaluru, the city’s tech corridor, are operating illegally. A Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) counsel informed the high court that out of 5,000 PGs in east Bengaluru, nearly 2,500 are run without a proper licence, plan sanction or fire safety requirements.Notices are being issued to all of them, caveats will be filed both in HC and the jurisdictional civil courts, and efforts will be made to pass orders at the earliest after providing an opportunity of hearing to the concerned, and thereafter, these paying guest accommodations would be closed, and if necessary, demolition activities would be taken up, the counsel said.In a detailed interim order, Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued a series of directions on the regulation, inspection and safety of PGs across the city after hearing petitions filed by owners of such accommodations.The directions, covering 81 points, emphasise the life, health, safety and dignity of occupants, and the interests of neighbouring residents and adjoining property owners.The judge directed the authorities to adopt a continuing system of identification, inspection, compliance and enforcement rather than treating licensing as a one-time exercise. The local authorities have to identify all PG accommodations to ascertain whether they possess a valid licence or not.The nomenclature adopted by the operator should not, by itself, determine the regulatory character of the premises. The competent authority should also examine the substance of the activity actually carried on, Justice Govindaraj specified in his guidelines.Onus on owner, operator & managerThe owner, operator and the person responsible for day-to-day management should comply with the statutory and regulatory obligations applicable to their roles. Where ownership and operation are vested in different persons, the inspection record should identify the owner, the lessee and the operator, the guidelines stipulated.The operator should be responsible for the day-to-day compliance of the establishment. The operator should ensure that only permitted numbers of persons are accommodated, security and CCTV systems are functional, fire and emergency arrangements are maintained, and sanitation and hygiene requirements are complied with.The inspection should also ascertain as to whether a sanctioned building plan exists for the facility, whether the construction conforms to the sanctioned plan and whether the use of the premises for PG accommodation is permissible.Particular attention should be given to unauthorised mezzanine floors, roof and terrace rooms, temporary partitions, conversion of parking areas, conversion of balconies, obstruction of staircases, alteration of load-bearing structures and excessive concentration of occupants, Justice Govindaraj emphasised in his order.The judge made it clear that if there are any violations by any of the paying guest accommodation owners or operators and no action is taken by the concerned officers, they would be personally liable for any untoward incident which may happen. The judge directed the matter to be listed again on Sept 28 for consideration.
