100 kiosks in City to trace history of areas

100 kiosks in City to trace history of areas
Deccan Herald

BDA Commissioner Vidya-shankar has urged the public to come up with suggestions to save the green belt in the City which may become soon leaner.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will install 100 Geo Kiosks across the city to enable the public trace the evolution of their properties and localities over the years.

Speaking after an interactive session on Bangalore’s Infrastructure - CDP Master Plan 2015 organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), BDA Commissioner M N Vidyashankar said the kiosks would come in batches of 25, 25 and 50 in a three-phase initiative.

“Bangalore’s 14 BDA offices will have the kiosks, apart from other centres identified across the city. The kiosks will help residents navigate through time and see how their residential properties or areas looked like more than 150 years ago. This will be extremely helpful to trace how land use has changed over time,” Mr Vidyashankar said.

The kiosks, which are aided by satellite imagery, traces the city’s landscape from 1840 and can help locate areas by corporation, ward, village, street, educational facilities, hospitals and other specifications.

Losing green cover

Earlier, making a presentation on the CDP, the BDA Commissioner reiterated that the shrunken green belt envisaged in the CDP was the result of an inevitable decision.

“After deliberations with various stakeholders in the city, it was decided that between 2005 and 2015, we need an additional 300 sq km for urbanisation. We don’t have a choice but to go in for a leaner green belt,” he said urging the public to chip in with alternative suggestions.

Speaking on the Peripheral Ring Road, Mr Vidyashankar said the Rs 1100 crore project would be a 109 km stretch encircling and skirting areas of BDA jurisdiction.

There will be many flyovers and underpasses on the road. We’ll start with eight lanes, but we have the provision to upgrade it to 22. There will be 10m-wide buffer zones of greenery on either sides of the road, which will be maintained by the BDA, he added.

The BDA Commissioner said the Authority would have a role to play in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP)’s plan to widen roads. “If residents have to let go of parts of their properties for the road-widening drive, BDA will give the provision of a premium Floor Area Ratio with which residents can go for vertical additions to the construction. The notification for the same will be given soon,” he said.