Greater Bengaluru Development Authority expands jurisdiction, takes over 22 more villages

Bengaluru: The Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA), initially tasked with reviving the Bidadi township project, has just got bigger.

The state government has increased the GBDA’s jurisdiction by 92 square kilometres with the inclusion of 22 villages. This expansion aims to regulate growth around the proposed 9,000-acre Bidadi township, located just outside Bengaluru.

An order issued on March 3 brought eight villages from Ramanagara taluk, six from Harohalli taluk, and another eight from Bengaluru South taluk under the GBDA’s jurisdiction. The authority was originally established in November 2023.

These newly added villages had a population of around 38,000 as per the 2011 Census, but officials estimate the number has risen exponentially since then.

With this expansion, the GBDA’s jurisdiction now spans 233 square kilometres across 59 villages, making it almost the same size as the Mahadevapura assembly constituency.

The newly included villages, mostly situated along Kanakapura and Mysuru roads, were previously governed by the Satellite Town Ring Road Planning Authority and the Kanakapura Planning Authority.

The implications

Politically, the inclusion of these villages into the GBDA underscores the influence of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, as two other planning authorities — under a different minister — had to relinquish control over them.

For villagers, however, changing land use from agricultural to residential or commercial purposes may pose challenges and come at a high cost.

Officials said the expansion was necessary to regulate growth around the Bidadi township.

"Once work on the new township begins, significant development activity will follow. Anticipating this, we expanded GBDA limits to plan connectivity in advance. A well-prepared master plan is crucial, as providing wide roads later becomes difficult," a senior official said.

Regarding the Bidadi township project, the official confirmed that the government has already approved the development scheme. "We will start the land acquisition process immediately," he added.

Officials said the Bidadi township is designed to help decongest Bengaluru.

The work-live-play township will feature dedicated sectors for different industries along with residential facilities. To assess market interest in relocating to Bengaluru’s outskirts, GBDA plans to engage a private consultancy.

The fine print 

GBDA was formed in November 2023 to revive the Bidadi township project.

In addition to the 9,000 acres for the township, GBDA will oversee another 23,000 acres across 22 villages.

Some of the included villages are: Chikkasulikere, Lakkasandra, Hallimala, Naganayakanahalli, Somanahalli, Vaderahalli, and Yedamadu.

One of the two identified locations for Bengaluru’s second international airport lies close to these villages.