Residents accept TDR, but worry about future

Residents accept TDR, but worry about future
Deccan Herald

Post the frowning, but still suspicious, the 19-odd residents, who have accepted the BMP’s Transfer of Development Rights for road widening works appear apprehensive about the future.

Post the frowning, but still suspicious, the 19-odd residents, who have accepted the BMP’s Transfer of Development Rights for road widening works appear apprehensive about the future.

Mr Vaz, a resident of Silver Manor Apartments, located at the junction of Langford Road and Hosur Road, revealed that he had received the first communication from the BMP in April last year regarding the TDR offer. He, along with 15 other property owners in his block, have since then accepted the offer. “We understand the traffic problem on Hosur Road. We do not mind doing our bit if it is for the good of the city,” Mr Vaz said. Incidentally, the highest number of positive responses to the TDR, 15 in total, has come from Hosur Road, one of the first stretches identified for road widening.

However, despite the nod, Mr Vaz is not assured that his “sacrifice” is worth much. “They are taking three metres from us, what difference will this make? They are acquiring 20 metres of defence land on the opposite side, which is anyway vacant. They could have taken four-five feet more, and saved us this hassle,” he said.

He claimed to have pointed this out to the BMP on several occasion, but the standard BMP response was: “The plans are already made. We are going as per plan.” As for the details of the ‘plan’, no one seem to know much. “We had asked for an information booklet giving the specifics of the scheme, but we have not received it yet,’ said Mr Vaz.

Also, Mr Vaz complained that the BMP has not created a market for TDR. “Property developers have broadly divided the city into A, B and C zones, without much scientific planning. Their monetary compensation to our TDRs is way below the prevailing market rate. We are afraid we will lose both ways in the end,” he said.

Floor Area Ratio

Meanwhile, Joshua Samuel, Principal of Baldwin Boys College, is unsure of how much of additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) the institution will get.

The Baldwin Boys School and College have parted with 4 to 10 metres of land along the 300 metres stretch on Hosur Road, and constructed a new compound wall at their own expense.

“We wanted to set an example to others by giving up our land. Our students suffer because the roads are too narrow, we hope a broad road will ovecome the traffic chaos here,” said Mr Samuel. “We will use the additional FAR to construct a new floor,” Samuel revealed.

The TDR clause, which specifies that the BMP will not give additional FAR if it constructs the new compound wall for the property owner at its own expense, has spelt trouble for the charity-run Home for the Aged. A Sister Superior rued they do not have money to demolish and construct a new wall, 10 metres away.

“A prayer room will be knocked down, but we do not have the funds to relocate it. We are working on raising money for it,” she said. Two residential properties, that have violated bylaws, may have to be demolished partly to make way for expansion, but both owners were unavailable for comment when Deccan Herald contacted them.

In other properties on Hosur Road, including the Shia cemetery, the mosque and Prestige Elgin Apartments, the compounds have been marked and red sign marks have been painted, but the shifting of the walls are still pending.