IT’S GREATER EMBRACE

IT’S GREATER EMBRACE
Option 1 Wins: BMP To Include 7 CMCs, 1 TMC, 103 Villages
The Times of India

Bangalore: It’s an identity where rigid boundaries will blur and hitherto rustic villages will become part of the Great Metropolitan dream.
Greater Bangalore is here. The committee, set up by chief minister H D Kumaraswamy to study the three shortlisted options on what could form Greater Bangalore, has cheered for Option 1. That is a single entity paving way for the merger of BMP with seven CMCs, one TMC and 103 villages.
Effectively, it translates into Bangalore boasting an area of 696.17 sq km. This is three times larger than the present city limits and larger than metropolis Mumbai’s 434 sq km.
Government sources told The Times of India that the committee decided on the first one as it is “viable’’. “The cabinet note is ready and has been placed before it. The proposal is likely to get approved in the next cabinet meeting, after which the notification of Greater Bangalore will be issued,’’ officials involved in the project said.
The process, set in motion in July 2005, was carried out taking into consideration the projected increase in population; by 2015, Bangalore’s population would be 88 lakhs and by 2020 it would grow to one crore.
Once the proposal gets the cabinet nod, a draft notification will be issued inviting suggestions from the public. The government will then come up with the final notification, crystallising Greater Bangalore.
According to officials, the next step would be to draw up the modalities for merger, carry out delimitation of the entire area, carve out the wards and finalise expansion of administration and infrastructure.
Once the notification is issued, another mammoth task awaits the authorities: preparing the reservation roster for the expanded city and holding of municipal elections.
A high-level committee will be formed to work out the modalities.
What is in store? The Greater Bangalore will have one authority with about 250 wards. Hence, the administrative machinery will also go through a long-pending overhaul. The CMC/TMC/village pockets will gain importance in terms of infrastructure. As 103 villages would be ‘elevated’ to urban status, facilities and infrastructure would have to be upgraded accordingly.
The government has estimated an overall expenditure of Rs 10,000 crore on Greater Bangalore project. G re at e r Bangalore will also see a change in the tax regime.
What’s going to be significant is that the delimitation exercise is slated to happen alongside Greater Bangalore. Again, the existing 12 assembly constituencies could shoot up to 24, and in Greater Bangalore, the existing three zones (east, west, south) could increase anywhere from nine to 12. THE BIG BANG
What comprises it: 696.17 sq km.
Includes BMP limits extending up to 226 sq km.
Merger of seven CMCs — Byatarayanapura, KR Puram, Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli, Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar — 257.97 sq km.
Bringing together 103 villages in Bangalore Urban district with more than 30% development — 178 sq km.
Merger of one TMC — Kengeri — spreading over 34 sq km. 103 villages in big league