Meet to plan development of 6 towns around B'luru

A recently appointed empowered committee for the City Cluster Development project will meet next week to consider and clear a draft plan to develop six towns around Bengaluru paving way for the implementation of the initiative.

The objective of the Rs 2,100-crore Asian Development Bank assisted  project is to work towards improving infrastructure, service delivery and economic development in towns surrounding Bengaluru so as to decongest and reduce pressure on the state capital.

The towns to be developed in the first phase of the project are Nelamangala, Magadi, Anekal, Bidadi, Hosakote and Devanahalli. The State Cabinet had recently constituted an empowered committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary V Umesh to monitor the progress and implementation of the project. Sources in the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), the nodal agency for the project, said the empowered committee will meet within a week’s time to consider draft final plan submitted by Infrastructure Development Corporation (Karnataka) Limited (iDeCK) on assessment studies.

The sources said the report includes economic and sectoral analyses for strategic development of these towns. Among the various parameters  included in the plan include upgrading economic infrastructure like markets, road connectivity, enhancement of service delivery like water supply, urban transport, solid waste management and drainages in the towns. Steps would also be taken to improve urban planning. At present, the towns have their own planning authorities.

First mooted in 2012, the project had remained on the drawing board and at the planning level. The clearance of the plan by the empowered committee will help push the project forward, the sources said. The KUIDFC has initially selected eight towns for development under the first phase and then cut it down to six.

More towns around Bengaluru will be taken up under the second phase of the project. Among the towns shortlisted by the KUIDFC include Dobbespet, Doddaballapur, Bommasandra, Harohalli, Santhanur, Solur and Malur.