Consultant finalised, BDA awaits Board's nod

Having reportedly finalised DHV India (Pvt) Ltd as the consultant to prepare the “Revised Master Plan - 2035” for the City, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is in the process of getting the final approval from its Board. The draft RMP is expected to be ready in two years, and the final plan a year later.

Approved in 2007, the existing Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP-2015) will be in force for another two years, according to BDA Town Planning member, Rangesh. Time then, is fast running out to get the next plan in action mode.

But the RMP preparation will not be an easy job. The GIS and time-series economic, social, infrastructural and spatial database that will form the basis for the Master Planning process will need to be assembled and integrated, ideally within the premises of the BDA. This, as the Authority explains, will enable RTI compliance, data security and enable better implementation and enforcement.

The process and output of the Master Plan will have to comply with the requirements of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. Beyond this, a number of new directions will need to be taken that will bring the process in line with current reality and the needs of Bangalore.

BDA stresses on setting up a coordination mechanism to bring the key stakeholders in urban planning, economic development and service provision together to provide inputs to review the Master Plan preparation outputs.

Another critical area would be rationalization of planning boundaries, to enable better coordinating and convergence with other agencies and stakeholders. More importantly, the RMP would have to be sensitive to the need to develop a liveable; economically and socially inclusive; environmentally sustainable and economically robust and innovative city and involve all key stakeholders, especially the poor and vulnerable in its visioning, development and implementation.