BENGALURU: To ensure the city’s future expansion is supported by planned roads and basic infrastructure, including drinking water and drainage, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the state government has notified a new road grid for areas of Bengaluru Urban district outside the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, he said Bengaluru had grown rapidly over the past 25 years without adequate advance planning and preparedness, and the consequences were now visible in the form of traffic congestion and persistent challenges relating to roads, drinking water and drainage.
He said around two decades ago, 110 villages and seven city municipal councils were brought within Bengaluru without adequate advance preparation or infrastructure. Despite successive governments making efforts over the past two decades to provide these areas with permanent drinking water, drainage and proper roads, the infrastructure deficit has still not been fully addressed.
Urbanisation is rapidly expanding into areas outside the GBA. Although these areas are currently outside the GBA limits, they are increasingly developing as extensions of Bengaluru and could eventually become part of the city’s larger urban footprint, he explained.
Citing experts estimate, he said Bengaluru’s urbanised area could expand to 1,400–1,800 square km in the coming years and that if we do not plan for the urbanisation around Bengaluru they too will face the same traffic and drainage problems that Bengaluru is struggling with today.
The government’s objective, he said, was therefore to put a planned development framework in place before unplanned urbanisation takes hold, so that the problems currently being experienced within the GBA are not replicated in Bengaluru’s expanding periphery.
As part of this planned approach, the entire Bengaluru Urban district was recently brought under the jurisdiction of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). A master plan is being prepared to provide drinking water and progressively establish adequate drainage infrastructure across the district, he said.
Similarly, a new road grid has been identified in the master plan across the jurisdictions of Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) and other local development authorities to improve connectivity and ease future traffic movement.
Gowda said creating new roads inside the existing GBA would have limited utility because large parts of the area already have layouts and buildings and therefore, the focus is on areas that are currently developing.
The notified road grid will provide connectivity between taluk headquarters, hobli headquarters, major district roads, State highways, the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) and the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR). These roads have been notified as CDP roads in a grid pattern to support planned urban expansion.
The new notification covers hundreds of roads, including existing Zilla Panchayat, Public Works Department (PWD) and State Highway roads that have been proposed for widening.
Roads that were previously as narrow as 10 metres have been notified for widths of 30 metres, 45 metres and, in some cases, up to 90 metres.
The minister said complete construction of the identified road network could take five to ten years. However, land required for the notified road corridors will have to be left vacant while undertaking new layouts or constructing houses in these areas, in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.
Gowda appealed to citizens to check the notification and understand the road alignments before undertaking construction or developing layouts.
The details of the new notification will be available on the BMRDA website.
WHAT’S THE grid
Planned for Bengaluru Urban district areas outside GBA limits
For rapid urban expansion and prevent future traffic, road, water and drainage problems
Grid covers areas under BMRDA and other local development authorities
Links taluk/hobli headquarters, major district roads, state highways, PRR and STRR
Hundreds of roads, including ZP, PWD and State Highway roads proposed for widening
Entire Bengaluru Urban district brought under BWSSB jurisdiction; master plan being prepared
Full road network could take 5 to 10 years to build
Land within notified road corridors must be kept vacant while developing layouts/building, as per law
Citizens should check road alignments before buying/developing land or constructing homes