Road widening work set to take off

Road widening work set to take off
12 roads measuring 28 km will be taken up on a fast-track basis within the next few weeks
The Times of India


The Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) will soon start work on the much awaited and widely reported road-widening project aimed to decongest the city's traffic. After a delay of over a year, the government has finally decided to go ahead by invoking provisions of TDR (Transferable Development Rights).

The project has gained momentum after the announcement made by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy recently that of the 95 roads identified, 12 measuring 28 kms would be taken up on a fast-track basis within next few weeks. And to facilitate the smooth operation a TDR clinic will be set up soon, where buying and selling of Development Rights Certificates (DRCs) would take place. The 12 roads that are to be widened by 30 metres within December are Bellary Road, Palace Road, Sheshadripuram Road, Nrupathunga Road, Hosur Road, Hosur-Luskar Road, Airport Road, Cottonpet Main Road, K G Road, Race Course Road, Dewanga Hostel and Lower Agaram roads.

On the project front, it may be noted here that the government has begun the process of acquiring land for these 12 roads. The BCC needs 38 percent government land, 24 percent defence and 26 percent of public land. Acquiring defence and public lands has hit a roadblock with citizens not taking to the concept of certificates. To resolve these issues, henceforth the BDA and BCC will co-ordinate in acquiring land using TDR guidelines. Also, the government has asked BWSSB, PWD and Bescom to take care of utilities that come in the way within three months.

“Various government departments, including Bangalore University, the University of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Veterinary and Fisheries Science have been directed to hand over the required land for widening of roads within a month. Issues regarding acquisition of land belonging to the Union Government and Ministry of Defence would be taken up with the Centre at the earliest,” said a senior BCC official who is involved in the project.

With PILs making way to the city courts against this move, as a first step to promote this initiative, the BCC will act as a financial intermediary between the builder and buyer and popularise TDR. The authority itself will buy land certificates and sell them to buyers.
In the second phase, 20 roads would be taken up for widening. The list of roads would be finalised in consultation with the City Police, BDA and City Municipal Council (CMC) authorities. However, some of the roads that are to be considered in the second phase are Vidhana Veedhi: Gopala Gowda Circle to K R Circle, Mission Road: N R Road to K H Road, Devanga Hostel Road: Hudson Circle to Mission Road, Sankey Road: Cauvery Theatre junction to Yeshwantpur Circle, Lalbagh Road: K H Road to Richmond Circle, Jayamahal Road: Mehkri Circle to Cantonment Railway Station, Victoria Road: D'Souza Circle to Airport Road, Bannerghatta Road: Hosur Laskar Road to J P Nagar Ring Road via Dairy Circle, Koramangala 80 Ft Road: National Games Village to Sarjapur Road, Dickenson Road: M G Road to Ulsoor Road, Ulsoor Road: Dickenson Road to Kensington Road, Old Madras Road: Trinity Circle to Murphy Road junction via Ulsoor, Richmond Road: Airport Road to Richmond Circle, Avenue Road, Lalbagh Fort Road and Mysore Road

How it works

Quoting an example, the BCC official said said, `if Z surrenders his vacant land measuring 1,000 sqft in an A Zone (intensely developed area), he would be awarded additional FAR which he can sell to a buyer in A, B (moderately developed area) and C (sparsely developed area) zones. The prerequisite for the buyer here is that he can go up one floor more (construct a building measuring 1,500 sqft) with a deviation of upto 50 percent only in accordance with the building byelaws stated in the KMC Act.

But if Z surrenders his vacant land in B zone, he can sell the FAR awarded to him in B and C zones only. If he surrenders his vacant land in a C zone, he can sell the FAR in C zone only''.

What TDR means
With Transferable Development Rights (TDR), the city corporations are now empowered to relax building byelaws to benefit property owners. Now, if an owner gives up his vacant land voluntarily, instead of the compensation, he will be given an additional floor area ratio (FAR) that will be 1.5 times the size of the plot. FAR can be used either by the owner to extend his building or can be traded for a price. A DRC will be issued to the property owner. This, in turn, will be a legal document for the owner to trade.

According to the TDR, authorities can consider relaxing setbacks and coverage area to the tune of 50 percent. This applies to land surrendered free of cost for road widening. However, no such relaxation will be given to an area needed for parking.

But, the DRC issued to the property owner will not be valid for use on plots adjoining a road less than 12 meters wide. But, after surrendering the required land, if the remaining portion is found to be too small for any construction, the owner can give up the entire property to the government in lieu of the Development right certificate. The government can also reject or cancel the DRC on certain grounds: where dues have to be paid by the owner to the government, where DRC is obtained by fraudulent means and where there is a dispute on the land title. The DRC must also have details about land, i.e. from where development rights have been generated and land use zone.

The authority will publish an annual programme for road widening, construction of a road or for any other public purpose for granting TDR. DRC will be issued only after the required land is surrendered to the authority free of cost and free of encumbrances. DRC will be valid for five years. It can be renewed for a further period of five years after paying revalidation fees. Authorities should maintain a register relating to grant and utilisation of TDR. A DRC is not valid for use on receivable plots in notified areas.