Final master plan only after making changes on public demand, says CM

The Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2031 will be finalised soon after making changes based on the complaints received from the public, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday amid calls for its withdrawal.

A  decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Bengaluru development committee chaired by the chief minister.

The meeting saw objections being raised to the revised draft. Many people stated that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) should withdraw the RMP  as it is riddled with errors and prepare a new one.

"We have discussed the revised draft. The suggestions made at the meeting will be assessed and incorporated. Thereafter, the BDA will publish the final master  plan," the chief minister.

Bengaluru Development Minister K G George said the January 23 deadline for finalising the master  plan would not be extended. "We have received 2,600 objections from the public and now held a meeting to finalise the master  plan. We will look into them and finalise the document on time," he said.

Replying to the objections about the buffer zones for lakes, George said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had set a 75-metre buffer zone only for lakes inside the city. "We have classified lakes before taking a  decision on the buffer zone. We have also challenged the NGT rule on buffer zones in the Supreme Court. The master plan has been prepared by keeping all this in mind," he said.  

Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali said the draft was published without holding  a meeting of the Bengaluru development committee.

"The meeting was called after the BJP objected to the government's attitude. The Comprehensive Development Plan (master plan) is very unscientific and we have demanded its withdrawal," he said.