Cabinet gives TDR nod to ex-royals

In a relief to commuters travelling on the airport route, the much delayed widening work of the Jayamahal road may be taken up soon as the state Cabinet has cleared the proposal for issuing Transferable Development Rights (TDR) to the erstwhile royal family, whose land is being acquired for the project.

The state government has approved the proposal by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for issuing TDR to the erstwhile royal family of Mysore. The decision will make way for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to start the widening of Bellary Road from Mehkri Circle to BDA Junction.

The BBMP, which had proposed the widening of the road, was struck due to the pending case between the Karnataka government and the royal family over the ownership of the palace grounds. However, the matter dragged to the next level after the supreme Court in 2014 asked the BBMP to issue TDR to the ex-royals as per TDR rules.

The BBMP, which required 15 acres and 39 guntas (64,563 sq mtrs) of land for the project, had in 2018 asked the family to sign an indemnity bond for issuing the TDR as the dispute was still unsettled. However, the royals had refused to sign the bond that led the BBMP and the BDA to move the state government, seeking Cabinet approval for land acquisition.

The proposed project involves widening 2.8 km of road from the Cantonment Railway Station to Mehkri Circle (Jayamahal Road) and 1.8 km of stretch between Mehkri Circle and BDA Junction. Currently, both the stretches have a width of 50-60 feet and the BBMP wants to widen it to 150 feet at the cost of Rs 38 crore, apart from land acquisition.

The BBMP is keen to take up the project as the stretch is considered to be a major arterial road for commuters towards the KIA and technological hubs along the road.

A BBMP official said, “As the state government has approved the issuing of TDR to ex-royals, it has become easy for us to take up the work now. The work can immediately start but we may have to wait till the procedures in the TDR handover are over. However, I can say that the work may start anytime soon,” he said.