TDR scheme fails to deliver; road-widening projects hit a dead end

Taking Balagere Road feels like enduring hell, according to Shwetha R, a chip design engineer based in Kadubeesanahalli.

“The short stretch is plagued with all sorts of problems, be it sewage, potholes, dust or the endless traffic jams. Despite this, authorities keep approving new apartment projects,” she said.

A resident of Vijayanagar, Shwetha had purchased a premium flat in eastern Bengaluru five years ago, with the hope of cutting down her tiring commute to work. Unfortunately, her relief didn’t last long.

Despite her office being only 4 kilometres away, she now considers leaving her job if her company discontinues the work-from-home policy that was implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the BBMP has ambitious plans like twin tunnel roads, elevated corridors, and short flyovers — projects that could take years to complete — it has overlooked simpler, urgent fixes like widening roads and clearing traffic bottlenecks. These critical yet unglamorous tasks could provide immediate relief but remain neglected. Such issues plague nearly every neighbourhood in the city.

Take Halasuru Junction, for instance. Roads from Indiranagar and Old Madras Road converge here, creating a chaotic bottleneck. Acquiring a portion of a private building and redesigning the stormwater drain (SWD) bridge could ease the congestion, but the problem remains unattended.

The Mukunda Theatre flyover is another infamous traffic hotspot. Vehicles from Banaswadi often take 15-30 minutes just to enter the single-lane flyover. While the BBMP has proposed an elevated rotary to address the congestion, commuters suggest simpler short-term fixes, like adding an elevated loop across the railway track towards Baiyappanahalli terminal.

In the Mahadevapura assembly constituency alone, about 20 road-widening projects remain stalled. The scenario is equally grim in fast-developing areas such as RR Nagar, Yeshwantpur and Bommanahalli, especially the sub-arterial roads.

A stalled solution

Short of funds, the BBMP has rarely acquired properties for road-widening projects through direct cash compensation. Instead, it depends on Transferable Development Rights (TDR), where landowners are issued certificates worth twice the guidance value, which can then be used for additional construction. The scheme was particularly attractive for developers to under-take high-rise buildings.

While the BBMP has widened several roads such as Hennur-Bagalur Road, Kogilu Road etc in the past using TDR scheme, it started losing sheen in the last 5-6 years amid controversy over its misuse.

Last September, the Congress-led government updated the TDR policy, offering equal compensation for all types of land, recognising that Bengaluru no longer has agricultural land. Despite this change, TDR has found few takers.

In recent months, the BBMP proposed nearly a dozen road-widening projects, but officials report that landowners are reluctant to give up their land. Even the BBMP’s initiative to construct roads in the buffer zone of stormwater drains between Hebbal and Hennur has stalled, as private property owners refuse to accept TDR — even for land that cannot be developed.

“The TDR is no match to the compensation offered by government agencies towards building metro and suburban rail. On top of this, landowners need to visit the BBMP office two dozen times just to get compensation. Because of this, key roadworks are stuck,” Clement Jayakumar of Mahadevaputa Taskforce said. “Only big builders who are well versed with the entire process accept the TDR compensation,” he said.

Former MLA Aravind Limbavali said the BBMP had not approved TDR for owners who had already relinquished their property and the road was built. “There are at least four such roads. Simple matters are being complicated and the land losers suffer,” he said.

With the state government introducing the premium floor area ratio (FAR), which permits additional construction in exchange for payment, the TDR scheme—once seen as a potential solution for developing public infrastructure—is now likely to become obsolete. This shift is expected to permanently delay numerous road-widening projects, the creation of public spaces, and other critical infrastructure initiatives.

A significant portion of the blame lies with the authorities. Unlike the civic bodies in Mumbai and Hyderabad, the BBMP has failed to establish an online system to ensure transparency in issuing TDRs nor are these certificates provided in the digital format.

Additionally, crucial information—such as utilised TDRs, unused TDRs, and TDRs available for sale—is not made accessible to the public. In the absence of such transparency, landowners are left relying on brokers, often unaware of the actual demand or value of their TDRs in the market.