BDA newsletter to keep public updated

In an effort to further transparency, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) may publish a monthly or quarterly newsletter on its website on the work undertaken by the agency.

The proposal for the newsletter came up in a recent meeting between the BDA commissioner and the Naada Prabhu Kempegowda Layout (NPKL) Open Forum.

The BDA has given a partial nod to the suggestion.

The members of the forum visit the layout once a month and give updates on the work taken up and various other related issues on different platforms, such as the social media.

The forum is ready to share the same with the BDA, which will be the background material for the newsletter.

“We request the BDA to publish the proposed newsletter because other entities like the BMRCL and forest department already have such mechanisms in place. Currently, our forum is actively providing updates to our members after visiting every block and collating the details of the works in progress,” Suryakiran, a member of the NPKL Open Forum, told DH.

Confirming the development, former BDA commissioner Dr. Manjula N said the agency has accepted the proposal and asked the officials to work on it. “The site allottees have agreed to share the collated content. We have to get it published from our side. So, we are yet to decide whether this would be monthly or quarterly. As a temporary measure, the BDA will chair a meeting with all the stakeholders every quarter and decide on the future,” she said.

As there was also a proposal from the NPKL forum to publish the finalised layout plan on the website, the BDA has agreed to it. “We will publish the finalised layout plan on our website. The benchmark plan will avoid frequent changes so that everybody will be in the know,” Manjula added.