BBMP mulls regularising illegally laid OFC lines

Amid complaints of rampant illegal road-digging by private companies for laying Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) lines, the BBMP is considering regularising such illegally laid lines by levying a penalty on the companies.

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“Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has asked us for the details of permissions given and how many kilometres of lines have been laid. We are preparing a report on this. Earlier, we had signed an MoU and regularised these cables by levying a fine. Now, we will revise the penalty and regularise them,” said BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath.

While the civic body allowed the companies to lay the cables in November-December, Girinath said the companies have continued to dig the roads illegally.

“We wanted to re-lay the roads later and hence, we allowed the companies to dig and lay lines. However, now, they cannot continue to dig the newly laid lines without permission. I have instructed the officials to file an FIR against those involved in such activities,” he added.