BDA to set the ball rolling for fresh Master Plan for the City in a week

The Netherlands-based consulting firm Royal Haskoning DHV had developed the earlier plan, which was finally scrapped by the BDA by mid 2020.
A view of the Bengaluru city. (Photo | EPS)
A view of the Bengaluru city. (Photo | EPS)

BENGALURU: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will take the first step towards putting in place the much-delayed Master Plan for the City by calling for tenders to create a fresh one within a week’s time. If everything goes as per schedule, the Revised Master Plan 2031 is likely to be in place by mid 2023.

The Master Plan (2016-2031) was intended to serve as a blueprint to develop the City for 15 years upto 2031. However, it has now already been delayed by five years and at present, the City still uses the Master Plan (2005 to 2015).  

The Netherlands-based consulting firm Royal Haskoning DHV had developed the earlier plan, which was finally scrapped by the BDA by mid 2020.

BDA Commissioner M B Rajesh Gowda told TNIE, “We will be calling global tenders to prepare a new Master Plan within a week. It would take us two months to finalise the consulting firm. And it would take 18 months for the fresh Master Plan to be in place.” This includes the time given for public feedback too. Asked if the present plan would become redundant, Gowda said that it would be shared with the new agency so that they can incorporate aspects from it in the new plan.

A top BDA official said that Transit Oriented Development (TOD), which aims at development along transit corridors in the City and dense, mixed land use will be given priority in the proposed plan.

The Master Plan was supposed to be in place by March 2017 but it was finally readied only in November that year after exhaustive efforts including usage of satellite imagery. It ran into numerous hurdles - it received nearly 14,000 objections from the public and BJP leaders, then in the Opposition, made allegations of bribery in connection with charges that it intended to take away agricultural land from farmers and hand them over to builders and promoters.

A top government official said there were major differences among the stakeholders, Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited and the Urban Development Department over whether the plan should focus on decongesting the Central Business District by creating infrastructure for public in the peripheral areas or by boosting growth in key areas including the Metro network and the suburban rail corridor by incentivising development in their vicinity.

“The lack of consensus also resulted in delay of many months. BDA has finally decided to go in for Transit-oriented development,” he added.

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