Road widening on priority

Road widening on priority
Ten of the city’s busy roads are being taken up as a priority and formal TDR requisition forms have been given to 450 properties


Touted as an answer to traffic woes, road widening invoking the provisions of TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) has emerged the numero uno fast-track project in the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC). Of the 46 city roads slated for road-widening, 10 busy arterial roads will be taken up on a priority basis. The 10 priority roads - Hosur Road, Palace Road, Airport Road, Hosur Luskar Road, Victoria Road, Murphy Road, Kensington Road, Dickenson Road, Ulsoor Road, Bellary Road - are being tackled simply because of rampant traffic congestion. Also, because the roads logically lead from one to the other, like one continuous stretch.

Hosur Road, the first targeted for road widening, according to BCC officials has gained most success with TDR. After a comprehensive briefing on what giving up portions of land for a Development Rights Certificate, entails, BCC officials have given formal requisition TDR forms to 250 properties on Hosur Road (including Luskar Road) alone. The flipside however is only six property owners have returned filled in forms, expressing interest in acquiring a TDR certificate. A ditto scenario ensues at Victoria Road and Bellary Road among others.

Like the BCC has maintained in the past, alignment of just how much land is required from either side of a particular road is pertinent to the specifics of the case. For instance, the National Dairy Research Institute, which stands aloft on central government land at Hosur Road, has voluntarily given up 400 metres long stretch of land from the vast vacant stretch in the courtyard. Using this, say BCC officials, is advantageous for many because this means taking lesser land from others in the vicinity.

There's respite at other roads, like the saving grace at Palace Road is that of the identified 27 properties, 22 are government properties and formal requisition letters would be sent as intimation, no bargaining and convincing required here. The pet peeve of BCC officials is that citizens are "apprehensive that land-grabbing is going on". Explains an official who has meticulously looked into issuing TDR forms, "a TDR certificate is like government currency. In five or ten years from now, people can encash it, the situation will be similar like the real estate boom presently".

What's on…

Road-widening alignment ready for ten roads. The identified land marked across four roads, the remaining six to be ready in a week Comprehensive property details ready for all 10 identified roads - property size, worth etc Demarcation done by building compound walls on the identified road, for instance a compound wall has come up on Palace Road Hosur Road (includes Luskar Road) - 250 TDR forms given Bellary Road - 40 forms given out Palace Road - 24 forms given to property owners Airport Road - identification and updating of properties in progress Victoria Road - 25 forms given out of 40 identified properties Dickenson Road - invoking TDR unnecessary because government land involved Ulsoor Road - tracing properties which will be affected Kensington Road - tracing properties Murphy Road - preparing road widening alignment