4 per cent of green belt to go if revenue site registration is allowed

4 per cent of green belt to go if revenue site registration is allowed

The Hindu

Ban on registration has cost the exchequer Rs. 600 crores

# Green belt has already shrunk by 221 sq km
# BDA says the proposed order will not reduce the green cover further
# Registration of sites can help regularise illegal layouts
# 17 to 25 per cent of houses in layouts around the city illegal
# Environmentalists say lifting of the ban will encourage more illegal constructions

BANGALORE: Over four per cent of the green belt will be lost if the Revenue Department decides to go ahead with its plans to allow registration of revenue sites.

The green belt in the draft Master Plan 2015, developed by the Bangalore Development Authority along with French consultants SCE Crocean, has already shrunk by 221 sq km, mainly in the eastern parts of the city, to accommodate the increasing population.

Compared with the 742 sq km of green belt proposed in the 1995 CDP, the draft plan provides for a green cover of only 565 sq km.

M.N. Vidyashankar, Commissioner of the BDA, says the proposed order of the Revenue Department allowing registration and conversion of sites will not reduce the green cover further. "The extent of encroachment has already been factored in while designing the draft Master Plan. None of these encroachments are new," he said.

In addition, he says, the green belt has now been demarcated as reserved areas where construction is not allowed. "No new construction can come up in the areas," Mr. Vidyashankar said.

The registration of the sites could also help regularise many of the illegal layouts. Deputy Chief Minister M.P. Prakash on Monday said that 17 to 25 per cent of houses in layouts around the city are illegal. According to the BDA, there are 109 illegal layouts in the city.

Mr. Prakash said the Government is considering revoking the ban on registration of revenue sites in the State because it caused a loss of Rs. 600 crores to the State exchequer.

Contractors enthusiastic

Building contractors are enthusiastic about the possible lifting of the ban as it will open up lot more of the city. "A lot of our projects have been held up because of this," says the managing director of a construction firm.

The contractors are hopeful that several revenue sites around the new international airport will be registered. "That is the next big area in the city but we held back because of the ban on registration," he adds.

Activists and environmentalists are concerned that the lifting of the ban will encourage more illegal construction in the green belt area in the hope that they can be regularised later. "If this trend starts, then more people will start encroaching on the green belt," says A. Raghunandan, an activist.