BDA to focus on areas in City's north, east

To keep pace with the booming construction activities in Bengaluru North and East, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has now decided to focus on development in these areas.

The upcoming Comprehensive Development Plan-2031 will focus on these two regions of the City, where the BDA will accord priority to apartment construction and layout formation. But infrastructure consultants say that the BDA indulging in real estate will not be a successful venture. Rather it should focus on infrastructure development and function as a regulator, they advise.

BDA Town Planning Member Chowdegowda told Deccan Herald that they were preparing a local plan for Bengaluru, giving more preference to Bengaluru North and East. This is because the growth trend is very high in these regions. Private development in the north and east has boomed and many pro-private investment bills are being passed.

“A survey is also being carried out to identify the areas where land can be bought and expansion can be planned. In the eastern side, we have to maintain green corridors and the Tamil Nadu state border is a limitation, but in case of the north, there is no constraint. We can go even beyond the international airport. Area restriction has not yet been finalised,” he added.

In Bengaluru West and South, where there is not much growth and land is in abundance, the BDA plans to continue with its flat-construction and layout-formation activities at a gradual pace. Bengaluru has grown rapidly, but the BDA has been incapable of meeting the housing needs of the entire population. “We now want to give homes to the needy and regulate the growth here. Private companies will be roped in for the investment,” Chowdegowda said.

However, Vivek Menon, an urban planner and head of the Infrastructure Subcommittee, CiSTUP, IISc, pointed out that the BDA should focus on improving the infrastructure rather than the housing. “It should not deal with land as it will end up with problems like the Arkavathy layout. The BDA will also not be able to compete with huge private builders as it will have to keep the flat prices in mind. The BDA’s layouts are also not developing. The BDA should buy land, chalk out zonal plans for layout formation, make farmers partners of land development, share profits and give the land to private builders to develop and imbibe. This should offer low, high and medium income group housing, land for hospitality and schools. This way, growth and economics can be controlled. It should also focus on solving infrastructure issues which is a challenge and the need of the hour,” he suggested.