BDA reduces Arkavathy site plan

Match-box homes in model Arkavathy

BDA has taken a turn around, and decided to cut down the number of bigger dimension plots--just to show on record that 20,000 sites are formed as announced.

Deccan Herald

The prolonged tangle over Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) Arkavathy Layout has now turned out to be a blessing in disguise for site applicants under Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category and other smaller dimension plots.
Reason: BDA is carving out more smaller dimension sites (20\30 feet), by reducing the number of bigger dimension category (50\80 and 40\60), much against its own notification order. BDA has resorted to this move as it is facing severe shortage of land -- most of it being under litigation and encroached upon, BDA sources told Deccan Herald.

So, instead of the ‘model’ residential layout en route to the proposed Devanahalli international airport, the layout may now comprise a bunch of match-box houses in future.

As per the notification issued on February 2004, calling for applications for 20,000 sites under the project, BDA had specified about the number of sites to be formed and distributed under four different categories (site dimensions) -- 20\30 feet, 30\40, 40\60 and 50\80.

As per BDA plans, number of 50\80 feet dimension sites will be cut down from 2,500 to 1,450, while 40\60 dimension sites will come down to 2,500 against its original plan of 3,500 sites. By doing so, the number of 20\30 feet plots will go up to over 10,000 (6,100 under EWS category and 3,100 under non-EWS), against its original plan of forming 8,000 20\30 feet sites. In total, 2,050 sites of both dimension will be slashed.

Violation
BDA’s move to form smaller sites is a blatant violation of the BDA Act, which mandates it to form only 40 per cent of smaller dimension sites in any of its residential layouts. But out of 20,000 sites under Arkavathy Layout, over 50 per cent of sites will be of smaller dimension.

The number of smaller sites are restricted to 40 per cent in order to maintain the aesthetics of a layout. Moreover, the decision of number of sites to be formed is taken based on applicants’ demand and social justice. However, BDA seems to have contradicted its own rules.

BDA to incur loss
By allotting more smaller sites, BDA will incur huge losses. For, all 20\30 sites reserved for EWSs are allotted at 50 per cent subsidy. In other words, BDA will be allotting an additional 1,000 20\30 feet dimension sites at subsidised cost.
When contacted, BDA Commissioner M N Vidyashankar said that BDA had planned to reduce bigger sites to stick to its earlier January 15 deadline. “As BDA has enough time before it and litigations are getting cleared each day, we have decided not to reduce number of bigger sites. Sites will be formed and allotted as per the notification order,” he claimed.

NUMBER OF SITES PLANNED AND REVISED

Original plan Revised plan
n 2,500 (50\80 feet sites) 1,450.
n 3,500 (40\ 60 feet sites) 2,500.
n 6,000 (30\40 feet sites) 6,850.
n 2,500 (20\30 feet sites under non-EWS) 3,100.
n 5,500 (20\30 feet sites under EWS) 6,100.