How green is our Silicon Valley

How green is our Silicon Valley

The unrestrained demand for housing and little scope for extending the city's boundaries will eventually swallow up most of Bangalore's lung space
The Hindu


THE REVISION of the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) for Bangalore has always meant compromising on the green belt created originally to restrict the growth of the city.

The CDP, first made in 1972, has been revised twice: 1984 and 1995. The draft of its third revision, undertaken by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), is ready. Every revision has left the city with lesser amount of the green belt than what it had in the previous CDP.

The total area for planning available in 1972 was 500 square km. The city limit was extended to include a total of 1,306 sq. km. of area in 1984 when 886 sq. km. was declared as green belt. Its revision in 1995 brought it down to 742 sq. km., a compromise of 144 sq. km. Now it is down to 494 sq. km., a compromise of an additional 248 sq. km.

After allowing for the lands transferred to the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project, a total of 221 sq. km. of land in the green belt is now proposed to be made available for the expansion of the city. This is in the east and north Bangalore, mostly in the skirting from Hosur Road to Doddaballapur Road (marked as agricultural land in the revised CDP map). Of this, 54 sq. km. is earmarked for industrial purpose and 25 sq. km. for hi-tech or knowledge industries.

Thus 142 sq. km. of area will be available for residential and commercial property investment. The BDA sources admit that unauthorised constructions have come up in at least five per cent of the green belt (or about 12 sq. km.). That effectively leaves a little over 130 sq. km. of area for housing and shopping and civic amenities such as parks and playgrounds and roads.

Unauthorised

Will the availability of this additional land have an impact on the city's real estate scene? What will it mean to the people who are keen to buy a site in the periphery of the city? K. Subramani, President of the Builders Association of India (Karnataka Centre), says hardly any part of the green belt is really vacant for further development. According to him, unauthorised structures have come in "most of the green belt."

Ramani Sastri, President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) and Managing Director, Sterling Developers, sees no reason why opening up of the green belt should impact the real estate prices in the city. He pointed out that most of the revenue lands have been converted into layouts and the opening up would merely result in their regularisation. "Those who have invested in such lands may feel happy, now that their houses or sites will be regularised," Mr. Ramani adds.

In north Bangalore, defence or educational institutions occupy most of the green belt which the Government proposes to open up, according to Mr. Sastri. From the Indian Institute of Science to the Jakkur Airfield and beyond, all of the green belt is occupied already in the north.

Environmentalist A.N. Yellappa Reddy, who headed the task force on the green belt policy, too confirmed in his report the high rate of unauthorised constructions in the area. "Since most of the land in the green belt is under private ownership, it is difficult for any planning authority to enforce the CDP.A lot of unauthorised developments have already come up in the area."

"What is green belt? Where is it?" ridicules Srinivasan Desikachari, Executive Secretary, Karnataka Ownership Apartment Promoters Association (KOAPA). Criticising unrestrained growth of the city, he wonders whether one could restrict it. However, he does think vacant lands available in the green belt to be opened up might provide more housing.

BDA sites

On his part, the BDA Commissioner, M.N. Vidyashankar, holds out the hope for people who dream of owning a piece of land. He assures them that about 10,000 to 15,000 developed sites in the areas proposed to be released from the green belt would be made available every year.

But Bangalore is going to grow faster, points out Mr. Desikachari. With banks offering housing loans at low rate of interest and income level of IT employees growing, the demand for housing is bound to outstrip supply.

The unrestrained demand for housing and little scope for extending the city's boundaries will eventually swallow most of the lung space.