SK Layout: Over 16,500 sites are ready for allotment

Nearly half of the 34,056 sites planned in Dr K Shivaram Karanth Layout (DSKL) are ready for allotment. 

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which began the basic civil works in February, has constructed 300 km of roadside drains, making the task of marking around 16,534 sites easier. In all likelihood, it will start allotments both to farmers and the general public next month. 

The key drivers of this layout are the Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by Justice A V Chandrashekar, along with retired IAS officer Jayakar Jerome and retired DG&IGP S T Ramesh. The committee – now supervising the project – was first formed in December 2020 to regularise 5,171 existing buildings, which turned out to be a laborious exercise that took almost two years. 

According to the BDA, the layout is spread over 3,546 acres in North Bengaluru and is close to the Kempegowda International Airport.

“We have got custody of over 2,500 acres of land where the work is going in full swing. We have started giving preference to places where there are no unauthorised structures,” a BDA engineer told DH. 

At present, the BDA has divided the layout into nine sectors where different construction firms have been engaged to take up works such as roadside drains, water supply lines, underground drainage (UGD) network, and asphalting of roads. The entire work is slated to be ready by December next year. 

Muniraju, a resident of Ramagondanahalli near Yelahanka, said he had parted with three acres of land where he grew flowers and vegetables.

“The BDA has already started the formation of sites on our land. I have been jobless since February. I have been anxiously waiting for the developed site,” he said. 

Officials said the BDA would start the process of seeking applications both from farmers and the general public simultaneously by mid-September.

“Over 1,700 farmers who have lost their land have opted for developed sites. This shows they are happy with the faster implementation of the project,” he said and added the process of receiving applications and scrutinising them takes almost two months.