After Jio, Airtel slapped with fine for digging Bengaluru road without permission

It was only last week that Reliance Jio Fiber was fined after its vendor allegedly dug up Sarjapur main road in three spots to lay optical fibre cables.

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A week after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) fined Reliance Jio Rs 25 lakh for allegedly damaging a part of the Sarjapur Road, similar action has been taken against Airtel.

In the latest incident where Airtel has been fined, multiple locations on recently asphalted 1.5 km stretch on the Bannerghatta Road were allegedly damaged while laying a fibre optic cable (OFC). The company has to pay Rs 68,14,000 in total to the BBMP, which includes a fine component of Rs 25 lakh. The remaining Rs 1.5 lakh is included as “road cutting” charges and the rest as restoration charges.

Officials said the fine amount has been fixed based on the conditions imposed while granting permission to the telecom company. The conditions also include that after restoring every road they have dug, the telecom company has to ensure that the roads get a ‘Satisfactory Work Done’ report from the BBMP.

The jurisdictional BBMP Engineer HC Krishna Kumar also filed a police complaint. An FIR (first information report) was registered on Sunday under Section 3 of Karnataka Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and Sections 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 431 (mischief by injury to a public road, bridge, river or channel) of the Indian Penal Code.

Read:Reliance Jio to face Rs 25 lakh fine after Bengaluru road dug up without permission

In his complaint to the police, Krishna Kumar said that other than the high financial cost of repair, the damaged road is also causing hardship to the commuters. According to a BBMP statement, Kumar had also called for blacklisting the company.

Speaking to TNM, Prabhakar, BBMP’s Executive Engineer of Road Widening Divison, said, “They did not have the required permission from the jurisdictional executive engineer before digging the road. Besides, in their agreement with BBMP, they have violated the clause which says that no road that has been asphalted in the last 12 months can be dug up again.”

‘Took all requisite permission’

Responding to the reports of BBMP levying fine for laying optical fibre cable without permission, Bharati Airtel, in a statement, said, “We would like to clarify that all requisite permissions and approvals from BBMP were duly obtained… We would like to reiterate that as a responsible corporate citizen, we always abide by all regulations laid down by local authorities.”

The statement also said: “Even during the Jio incident, BBMP in a statement had said the company will be issued a fine of Rs 25 lakh and the Palike will take measures to blacklist the company involved in laying the cables.”