Experts to deliberate on draft CDP soon

Experts to deliberate on draft CDP soon
Deccan Herald

‘The CDP was not placed before the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA) before being put up for public hearing’

Just how well do you understand the Master Plan 2015 (the draft Comprehensive Development Plan) that is being displayed by the Bangalore Development Authority at Yavanika? Does it appear as a maze of maps with confusing land-use analysis where you cannot tell whether you belong to a residential area or a commercial one?

The Plan will soon come under microscopic analysis. The Karnataka chapter of the Institute of Town Planners (ITP) is all set to conduct a brain-storming session with expert town-planners from across the country, on July 30 to deliberate on the CDP.

“How do you read maps that are not user-friendly and so confusing?,” asks S C Kari Gowda, President of the Karnataka Chapter of the ITP.

President of ITP Dr Sachidanand, founder-chairperson of the Karnataka chapter K S Rame Gowda, former head of Town and Country Planing (Central government), expert from the School of Planning and Architecture and UN consultant Prof L R Wagale, directors of Town Planning from several cities, including Mumbai and Delhi, will participate in the meeting, he said.

Not reviewed

Mr Gowda points out that the CDP was not even placed before the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA) before being put up for public hearing.

Any plan for Bangalore is part of a larger plan of BMRDA, making it mandatory to be placed before the BMRDA, before it goes for provisional approval,” said Mr Gowda.

But BDA Commissioner M N Vidyashankar, when contacted, maintained that asking the BMRDA for its recommendations and suggestions would be done by the Urban Development department after four months.

“We will hear public objections and suggestions for 60 days (till September 12). Following this, the independent committee will look into which of these should be incorporated in the Plan, for another 60 days. After that, the Urban development department will review it before approval for 30 days. During that time, the department will consider the BMRDA’s views,” he said.

Mr Gowda, a member of the independent committee himself, feels this is against both the BMRDA Act (section 30) and the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act (section 81 - 3).

The move has obviously raised eye-brows for a point of logic– supposing the BMRDA recommends some changes later and these are incorporated, wouldn’t it have to be placed for public display all over again?

Cost matters

The drafting of the CDP has also burnt a deep hole in government pockets.

A similar land-use information system for 347 villages spreading over a larger area has been done, using similar GIS and MIS tools, for barely Rs 10 lakh by BMRDA. Perhaps the cost could go up to Rs 1 crore now, because the BDA land-use is far more intricate.

But this CDP has cost the government over Rs 20 crore, said Mr Gowda.

Further, he felt there is need for debate on whether the green-belt needs to be opened up at all.