Will Hi-Tech City go the Arkavathy way?

Will Hi-Tech City go the Arkavathy way?
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The fate of the much-hyped Hi-Tech City hangs in balance. The work on the project, which was supposed to start in November last year, has not yet begun.

The Bangalore Development Authority has no plans to start it till the litigation against the project is cleared.

The lack of any progress on the project makes it look like a repetition of the Arkavathy Layout case. This has led to the speculation that the Hi-Tech City project too is likely to be scrapped.

“No work has begun on the Hi-Tech City project and no decision in this regard is taken as yet,” BDA officials said.

The proposed Rs. 390-crore Hi-Tech city to come up along 8.5-km stretch between Electronics City and Sarjapur envisages an integrated township with office space, residential complexes, commercial establishments, educational institutions, among other facilities besides housing who’s-who of IT and BT.

The project is based on the lines of Bandra-Kurla commercial complex in Mumbai.

Though the BDA had issued final notifications to acquire 1,070 acres of land for the hi-tech project, some farmers challenged the project in the court on the same grounds that led to the cancellation of the Arkavathy project.

The BDA had prepared three tender packages for the proposed project but it could not invite tenders as the project was challenged in court and so there has been no progress.

“We may have to wait for the High Court judgment,”BDA officials said.

While the Hi-Tech City is doubtful, in June, the State Government’s High Level Clearance Committee (HLCC) had cleared 14 mega projects to be set up in the Hi-Tech City.

These projects include those of IT majors Wipro, Sasken and I-Flex Solutions, with an investment proposal of Rs. 1,200 crore.