Vertical growth inevitable for fast-growing Bengaluru, says BDA

The state government and the Bengaluru Development Authority, who are planning the city’s growth for 2031, say the city’s horizontal expansion is saturated and so the only way to provide housing is by going vertical.

In the revised master plan 2031, the BDA has estimated that the city will need three million homes. But there is no space. “So we are planning to construct affordable flats. The BDA has planned to construct two-and-a-half lakh flats in the coming years,” said a BDA town planning member. This is apart from the 13,200 flats already constructed and allotted and the ones for which applications have been called for.

According to the BDA town planning department, two-and-a-half lakh Bengalureans do not have homes. So they are their first priority.

Does this mean that more people will own BDA flats than sites? The officials agree. “Look at the fate of Arkavathy Layout. Things are not very clear with Kempegowda Layout also. In Mumbai, too, sites are a problem and flats are in demand. Delhi is also seeing a similar trend. There is no space to create more sites in Bengaluru too. So, constructing flats is the only option. But we also cannot construct tall structures, because the city is also reeling under severe water crisis,” the official said. He said that their (BDA) analysis had shown that people in Bengaluru have small nuclear families, so not many need three-bedroom, hall, kitchen or big flats. 

“Also, to construct more houses, there is a need to open up areas in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Area for development. There will be opposition from those in these areas as most of the BMA regions have been designated as green belts and agricultural zones.

Another big challenge will be to give adequate compensation to land losers and land conversion. Transportation is another major challenge. Vertical growth must come with wide roads, but not many city roads have been widened. This is because of improper implementation of FAR and TDR,” the official said.