‘Property in green belt will not be cleared’

‘Property in green belt will not be cleared’
Deccan Herald

If your property has been declared a part of the Green Belt under the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) (draft Master Plan -2015 for Bangalore) unveiled by the Bangalore Development Authority and you have filed objections seeking reconsideration of the same, then chances are that your application will be rejected.

The high-level committee set up to review suggestions and recommendations made by the public on the comprehensive draft Master Plan 2015 is learnt to have taken a firm stand on any further shrinking of the green belt boundaries.

In fact, the committee has recommended that the over 220 sq km of the Green Belt opened up for development in the draft CDP be reduced.

Compared to the 742 sq km green belt allotted in the 1995 CDP, the draft Master Plan 2015 provides only 565 sq km of green cover. But despite the opening up of the green belt, a substantial number of the 19,000 suggestions and comments received from the public for changes in the draft CDP are primarily objections to properties being declared as falling in valleys, sources close to the scrutiny of the suggestions told Deccan Herald.

“We have received a number of applications requesting reconsideration of properties from being declared as falling in the Green Belt.

Most of these applications are likely to be rejected, as retaining the Green Belt is the only way one can check unrestricted sprawl of concrete structures,” the sources added.

As per the BDA Act, no development activity is allowed in the Green Belt. The master plan focussed on protecting the area around the Tippagondanahalli Reservoir, tankbeds and valleys in the city to prevent flooding of low-lying areas during rains and help recharge the water table.

As much as 94 per cent of the complaints received pertained to micro-level usually involving sites and zoning regulations, while the remaining six per cent were suggestions to planning. Interestingly, most of the comments received have been filed by those residing outside the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) jurisdiction.

Public suggestions

The BDA has called for suggestions and comments from the public, mainly in the following categories: Land use, zoning regulations, traffic and transport, roads, hi-tech industries, green belt and open spaces.

Meanwhile, the new CDP’s proposal to allow small commercial activities in residential areas of up to 200 sq mts area against the existing 50 sq mts has by and large been welcomed by the public, the sources added.

The CDP’s proposal to open up areas along five major Mutation Corridors (five major link roads of Hosur Road, Mysore Road, Bellary Road, Bannerghatta Road and Tumkur Road) for business activities has also been welcomed.