Fast-paced BDA prepares for CDP-2031

Comprehensive Development Plan 2015 still on paper

 The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) seems to be on fast track when it comes to the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP). Even before the implementation of CDP-2015, the civic agency has emabarked on the process of preparing CDP-2031

.

The BDA has awarded tenders to New Delhi-based engineering firm- DHV India Private Limited, to prepare CDP-2031, at a cost of Rs 14 crore. Work on preparing the master plan will start in March and will take around two years to prepare it, said a BDA official.

Accepting that the CDP-2015 was not implemented, the official said, as per the law it is BDA’s duty to prepare the CDP once in 15 years, which is the plan for Bangalore and this practice is being followed. It is unfortunate that CDP- 2015 ran into litigation and its implementation has been delayed, he added.

Meanwhile, urban experts opine that the CDP should not remain a mere zoning or road plan of the City. 

It should rather be a vision document for City’s growth and be prepared in consultation with Bangaloreans and experts. Most importantly, lessons from the CDP-2015 should be learnt and mistakes should not be repeated. Also, experts from the City should have been involved in preparing the CDP-2031.

No infra components

Vivek Menon, chairperson of Invicus Engineering Company and infrastructural sub-committee member at CiSTUP, IISc, and advisor to State government on infrastructural issues, said: “CDP should not be a zoning document. It should rather be a master plan of vision of Bangalore’s future. The present one does not have any infrastructural network or other components, rather than just statements on  residential and commercial areas and roads.” 

The prime aspects of Bangalore’s requirement which are not existing in the present CDP should be included in the new one. For instance, GPS and GIS maps for mobility, water bodies, green belt, residential and commercial spaces, open areas, infrastructural projects (present and future), water, sanitation and lake networks. 

Adding to this, noted traffic expert M N Srihari said: “The BDA cannot do the job alone. Instead of handing over the task to Delhi-based organisations, they should take the help from Bangalore-based experts, who know the City landscape and terrain well. Before starting work on the new master plan, the BDA should first examine what went wrong in CDP-2015 which was prepared at a cost of Rs 10 crore and not implemented. Since it’s a comprehensive plan for Bangalore, City experts should be consulted.” He added that BDA should have a consultation committee, which will sit together with BDA officials and experts to chalk out a Bangalore guide. It should be much more than road maps. The BDA should not discuss among themselves and take decisions. The BDA official added that after the CDP is prepared, people will be allowed to put forth their objections and suggestions, which will be incorporated, if necessary. DH News Service