Land demarcation along Bangalore roads begins

Land demarcation along Bangalore roads begins
Acquiring Land, Cutting Through Graveyard Prove Difficult
The Times of India

Bangalore: Two years after the concept of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) was conceived, the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) has begun work on marking alignments and demarcating land requirements to expand city roads.

Red lines now dot Hosur Road and parts of Bellary Road, where the BCC has demarcated its land requirement. On Hosur road, where the paramount paper work is ready, the alignment has been marked from Richmond Road Shooley Circle to Mico Factory.

But even before officials can breathe life into the project, there are obstacles galore that need to be overcome. “Along the line that we have marked for land acquisition on Hosur Road, there is a mosque and burial ground. These are sensitive cases and they need to be handled with an eye for meticulous detail,’’ BCC officials pointed out.

The major obstacle course apparently comes from the defence land near Johnson Market. “There is substantial land requirement from them and the demarcation has to be pucca. Even if we alter as much as half a foot from the original plan, we will be in trouble’’ say officials.

However, another hitch is that the alignment keeps altering at certain “privileged’’ places — the geometric curves and designs change track with every building or ‘case’, in TDR parlance. For instance, on the Adugodi stretch, the area traversing a famous shopping mall on Hosur Road was on paper marked as “30 mts on either side’’. But now, it has been demarcated as 10 metres on the side of the mall and 50 metres on the other side. “This is because land on the other side belongs to the government. It’s better to use government land than trouble the private builder. How can we demolish this mall?’’ officials explained.

The other major problem on Hosur Road is a burial ground. Even if land is taken from a burial ground, apparently, nobody is authorised to slice into any grave’s area.

The engineers are again grappling with change in land plans to ensure that graves are not disturbed, even if it means snaking around a path.

Breaking ice with house-owners is another problem, with many of them not even letting BCC officials enter their places, fearing the dreaded notification. Issuing application forms at every house is also proving to be an Herculean task.

“TDR is actually a money-spinner, people should encash on it. The resistance is natural but they have to see long-term benefits. Imagine zipping at 60 km speed on any road’’ says an official.

For now, zipping anywhere is truly only imagination.