BENGALURU: With just one-third of Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) Kanminike residential project (off Mysuru Road) sold so far, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) constituted by the State government will visit the spot on Tuesday. This follows a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), castigating BDA for going ahead with the project without understanding the housing market in the area.
The 20-member committee, comprising MLAs and MLCs, looked into allegations of financial appropriation of government funds on the recommendations of the CAG.
A senior BDA official, explaining that CAG was not correct, said, “We had previously conducted market research through FREI Agency. It revealed that there is a demand for BDA flats in Bidadi, Kumbalgodu and Hejjala, after which we proceeded with the project. The CAG team did not have access to this research report. We explained it to them later and sent a copy to the PAC team too,” he explained.
While no one in BDA could give the exact number of flats sold in Kanminike Phase-II, III and IV so far, a senior official said, “Nearly 350 of 1050 flats have been sold. Most of them are 2BHKs and others are 3BHKs. These are round-up figures.” Though Kanminike Phase-V has been completed, it has not been opened to the public while Kanminike Phase-I project has been abandoned after the contractor left mid-way.
Another official said, “We have spent nearly Rs 300 crore for these flats. Our money is stuck in it as there is no demand. If we manage to sell all of them, we stand to get Rs 450 crore,” he added.
The inability of BDA to provide a direct access road for a 850-metre stretch from Mysuru Road to the flats is cited as the main reason for the sluggish sales. This road was planned five years ago. There is a road from Hejjala via Judicial Layout to the flats, but it is a longish route and is not preferred by potential home buyers who want a direct access road, said the official.
An engineering department official said, “We plan to build a new service road and the land to be acquired has been identified. We have held talks with farmers too. This will be in addition to the new service road already in place. If they prefer, they will be given alternate sites in Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout.”