Development still unheard of here

SMV LAYOUT / Site demarcation a daunting task; a free run for cattle
Development still unheard of here
Deccan Herald

Nearly-packed BMTC buses roll down the untarred stretches of Bangalore Development Authority’s Sir M Visvesvaraiah Layout. They, however, are no indication of how the layout has progressed since 2001, when land was acquired for the project.


Nearly-packed BMTC buses roll down the untarred stretches of Bangalore Development Authority’s Sir M Visvesvaraiah Layout. They, however, are no indication of how the layout has progressed since 2001, when land was acquired for the project. For, the bus service was initiated to connect the neighbourhood villages, parts of which were combined to form the layout.

SMV Layout, that falls between Mysore Road and Magadi Road, has more activity when pitted against BDA’s upcoming layouts in Anjanapura and Banashankari VI Stage. Trucks and lorries laden with construction material ply through the layout.

However, many are heading for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor, the Bangalore-Tumkur stretch of which would pass through the layout.

Thick plant cover has made site identification in many pockets of the layout difficult.

Levels of maintenance as seen in a neighbourhood township — Bhavani Nagar, a layout developed by the Railwaymen House Building Co-operative Society — make the SMV situation look grim.

“Eighty per cent of electrification is done. A detailed project report for water supply works is under process,” says a BDA official.

According to the official, major bus routes have been metalled. Asphalting of roads, that was expected to start after the rains, look remote at the moment.

Waiting game

Rates of 40x60 and 50x80 sites in Blocks I and II — both around three to four km off the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor — are being quoted at as high as Rs 1400 per sq ft. Block I’s proximity to the Ring Road, Mysore Road and Kengeri has also proved decisive in the price appreciation.

Across the layout, prices range between an average of Rs 900 and Rs 1200.

A house has come up in Block VI, that is close to the Peripheral Ring Road. Block V, that falls near the Ullal Main Road, has a busy neighbourhood, complete with a row of small shops. However, all you get to see on the layout sites are cattle on a free run.

Some investors have given themselves time before the expected price boom surfaces.

Those who are planning to build houses don’t seem to be rushing in. And till development shifts from plan to action, speculators call the shots.

HIGHLIGHTS

*541 hectares of land acquired during 2001

* 17, 624 sites allotted

*4200 sites allotted

* BDA’s present allotment rate is Rs 189 per sq ft

* Site prices in the range of Rs 900-Rs 1200 per sq ft

We were allotted a 30x40 site in Block VIII in 2004. Only certain roads in the layout were being metalled till earlu this year. Though development was happening at a slow pace, we got a great response and a good deal. BHARATH who sold a Block VIIII site



I’m waiting for construction of houses to start in the layout before b uilding my own house. I’ll wait for a year and if there’s no progress with regard to amenities, I’ll think of selling the land

Rajeev who owns a site in Block II