BENGALURU: Over 12,500 public responses, including mostly objections as well as suggestions, have been received for the Bangalore Development Authority’s draft of Revised Master Plan 2035. Tuesday was the deadline for public to file their objection.
The plan was made public on November 25 at the BDA office at Banashankari Second Stage and objections invited. However, many Bengalureans appear to have waited till the eleventh hour to convey their views.
“There was a made scramble with nearly 500 emails received between 4.30 pm and 5.30 pm. There were many who chose to drop their objections in the drop box,” said a top BDA official. “Some individuals chose to drop even up to 30 applications in one name while there were 600 objections filed from one particular apartment complex in East Bengaluru,” the official added.
The number is likely to be even higher as two other counters in the head office at Gutahalli Main Road too collected the applications on Tuesday, he said. The major objections were filed by people whose residential lands were converted to commercial or earmarked for the building of roads or ‘Public and Semi Public’ spaces. “Some were also upset that their property falls under the buffer zone earmarked by the National Green Tribunal and wanted it to be changed,” he said.
Asked about the next stage, the official said that an Objection Review Committee would go through every single objection filed. “Due to the huge number of applications, it is likely to take some time,” he said, refusing to specify a timeline.
After the Committee takes a decision on each of the objections filed, it would be sent to the top brass of the BDA.
Meanwhile, Namma Bengaluru Foundation was among those who submitted the formal objection today. An official statement from the Foundation said, “There are multiple errors (whether cartographic or not is a mystery) in the draft RMP, like roads shown to go over lakes, misnaming of lakes, wrong road widths indicated, missing public spaces and tanks and dubious marking of drainage systems.”
Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO, Namma Bengaluru Foundation said, “The most important issue with the proposed RMP 2031 is the role of BDA in usurping the mandate of the Municipal Planning Committee (MPC). As per Article 243 ZE of the constitution of India and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee Rules, 2013, it is the duty of the MPC to study the inputs provided.”