Owners of vacant sites across Bengaluru have been warned to clean their properties before August 15, or they could face hefty cleaning and waste transportation charges running into more than ₹1.7 lakh, depending on the size of the property.
The warning comes as authorities are taking the initiative to keep Bengaluru clean with an “Independence Day campaign” called “Freedom From Waste”.
Under the Solid Waste Management Bye-Laws, 2020, property owners are responsible for keeping empty plots under their ownership clean from garbage, weeds and construction debris.
The owners of vacant sites are to dispose of waste before the deadline. And if they do not do so, municipal authorities can clean themselves and recover the cost from the property owner.
What happens if owners do not heed the deadline?
If a vacant site is not cleaned by August 15, the civic administration can arrange for the removal of garbage, weeds and construction debris.
To do so, the owner will be charged cleaning costs and waste transportation costs.
The amount depends on the size of the site and whether it has a compound wall.
For instance, owners of a 20x30 site without a compound wall could be charged around ₹6,700 for cleaning, and those with a compound wall could be charged around ₹7,700. A transportation charge of ₹19,200 could also be applied.
For a 30x40 site, the cleaning charge could range from ₹13,400 to ₹14,400 and a transportation charge of ₹38,400.
A 30x50 site might attract cleaning charges between ₹16,750 and ₹17,750 and a transportation charge of ₹48,000.
The owners of larger plots can pay much more
For a 40x60 site, the cleaning charge could be ₹26,800 to ₹27,800, and transportation charges could reach ₹76,800.
The charges are particularly important for large properties.
For a 50x80 site, owners could face cleaning charges of about ₹46,700 to ₹47,700 and transportation charges of ₹1.28 lakh.
From this perspective, the total amount could be around ₹1.75 lakh depending on the charges.
For properties larger than 50x80, the amount could be increased based on the total area.
Why are empty sites targeted?
The empty plots that are not being used for construction waste, if left open then they can become dumps for garbage and construction waste.
Overgrown weeds, accumulated debris, and illegally dumped waste can create sanitation problems and affect the surrounding neighbourhood.
So authorities are now placing more and more pressure on property owners to ensure that vacant sites do not become sites of waste.
The campaign is also aimed at improving cleanliness and making Bengaluru more hygienic and liveable.
Do Not Dump Waste On Roads Or Drains
And those who clean their sites should not just move the trash around.
Waste removed from a vacant plot should not be dumped on roads, footpaths, stormwater drains or other public spaces.
Instead, owners are to take care of the garbage being disposed of by the owners.
The property owners who cannot clean their plots themselves can also use services provided by authorised agencies identified for waste-removal activities.
This is to avoid the situation where waste is removed from one place only to be illegally dumped at another.
Charges Can Be Recovered With Property Tax
The problem for property owners is recovery.
According to the information given, the applicable charges can be recovered along with the property tax liability under the provisions of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024.
This means that owners who ignore the notices cannot simply assume the civic administration will absorb the cost of cleaning their property.
Instead, the expenditures made by the authorities can be recovered from the property owner.
The warning for Investors and Neglected Properties
And it is particularly important for those who have bought vacant sites as long-term investments but seldom visit or maintain them.
As such, garbage, construction debris, and vegetation can accumulate gradually.
But authorities are now emphasizing that ownership also comes with responsibility for keeping the property.
With the August 15 deadline on the way, vacant-site owners in Bengaluru are being advised to inspect their properties and schedule clean-ups before the civic authorities take any action.
The financial difference could be significant: cleaning a site voluntarily might cost far less than allowing authorities to undertake the work and subsequently charging cleaning and transportation charges.
For owners of large properties, failing to meet the deadline could result in charges of lakhs of rupees.
As a result, the civic administration’s message is just to keep vacant sites clean, dispose of waste in authorised channels and not to dump it illegally.
With the “Freedom From Waste” campaign going on, Bengaluru’s vacant-site owners have only a limited window to comply before enforcement and recovery measures begin.
