Greater Bengaluru Authority office.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: After more than a decade, Bengaluru may finally get a new master plan — a key document to guide the city’s development — but the exercise will be split between two agencies.
The work will be shared by the newly formed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and its sister-concern Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), each preparing plans only for their jurisdiction.
Experts say the fragmented approach counters the core principle of city planning, which they argue should rest with a single institution to manage land use, mobility, and infrastructure growth.
Urban researchers also warn that parallel planning processes could lead to overlapping proposals, delays in implementation and confusion among project executing agencies, especially when road widening, public transport expansion and zoning changes require coordinated decisions across multiple administrative boundaries.
The GBA has received approval to prepare a Comprehensive Master Plan for its 709 sqkm area. This marks the agency’s first major planning exercise, as the former Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) did not hold planning powers.
With the GBA taking charge, the BDA's role is now limited to 427 sqkm in a doughnut-shaped ring on the city’s outskirts. The authority has been asked to prepare a fresh master plan after its recent bid to hire consultants drew no response.
Third planner?
What's more, the GBA and the BDA are not just the two planning bodies of Bengaluru.
About 87 sqkm along both sides of NICE Road between Tumakuru Road and Hosur Road is overseen by the Bengaluru Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority (BMICAPA). This means the city is governed by three agencies using separate master plans.
A city planner told DH that a fast-growing city should have a single planning institution. “If the responsibility of putting salt, pepper and spice is given to different people, no one will be able to eat the meal,” he said.
Tushar Girinath, Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department (UDD), said responsibilities were assigned based on jurisdiction. “The GBA is the planning authority for Bengaluru,” he said, adding that plans from other agencies, including the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA), will be integrated when ready.