Apart from posing safety concern, those functioning illegally are causing revenue loss to BBMP

While the marriages may be legal, the venues may not be. Nearly 90 per cent of the marriage halls (choultries) and party halls in the city are not licensed.

According to conservative estimates, while there are over 2,100 party and marriage halls in the city, as per the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) revenue records, there are only 350 marriage halls in the city and far fewer party halls.

The issue had been raised in the previous council. As per records placed in the council, there are a total of 936 marriage halls and 1,200 party halls. BBMP officials have turned a blind eye to the mushrooming of party and marriage halls, most of which are illegal, councillors had pointed out.

A case in point is BBMP’s response to an RTI query. In south zone alone, of the 170 marriage halls, 110 are not licensed, while nine have been shut down, the reply stated.

Ravindranath Guru, RTI activist, said that most of the marriage and party halls in the city were functioning without valid authorisation. There was also large-scale violation of building bylaws, as the basements that should be reserved only for parking purposes have been converted into dining halls and kitchens. “Apart from posing a safety concern, the fact that many of these halls are not licensed means that the civic body is losing out on revenue,” he said.

He said he had lodged a complaint in this regard with the Lokayukta, who had also directed the Urban Development Department (UDD) to instruct the BBMP to act against such marriage halls. “In March 2014, a special committee was set up with the BBMP’s Special Commissioner as the chairperson to look into the various irregularities. Though the committee was required to submit a report to the UDD by April 2014, nothing progressed in this regard and the irregularities continue unabated,” he said.

When asked about the action taken against the illegal halls, BBMP Commissioner G. Kumar Naik responded in the negative. Mayor B.N. Manjunath Reddy admitted that the civic body was losing out on a lot of revenue with a majority of these halls functioning illegally. “I will also order an inquiry to ascertain the involvement of officials in allowing them to operate illegally,” he said.

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Total number of marriage halls and party halls in the city: 2,136

Number of marriage halls: 936

Number of party halls: 1,200

Number of marriage halls in BBMP records: around 350

Total number of marriage halls in south zone* : 170

Number of licensed marriage halls: 51

Number of unlicensed marriage halls: 110

Number of halls shut down: 9

(*According to the response to an RTI query)

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Garbage woes

With the number of illegal marriage and party halls on the rise, the problems caused by them have also increased manifold. From pollution to fighting for parking, the citizens, especially those living close to these halls, are largely inconvenienced.

These halls are all classified as bulk generators of garbage and are required either handle the waste themselves or entrust it to an agency. However, waste management experts aver that with many halls functioning illegally, the garbage from these places is also being dumped illegally.

Admitting this, Mayor B.N. Manjunath Reddy told The Hindu that BBMP officials had recently found 10 vehicles with waste from hotels and halls trying to dump it in Karnataka Compost Development Corporation processing unit illegally. He said that CCTV cameras had been installed at the unit to prevent illegal dumping.

“We are trying to ensure that all waste generated in the city is processed scientifically. We will crack down on those trying to dump waste illegally,” he added.