`Satellite towns should be self-contained'

`Satellite towns should be self-contained'
The Hindu

The proposal for five satellite townships evokes mixed reactions from the industry

Bangalore: The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority proposal for five satellite townships close to Bangalore has evoked mixed reactions from the industry.

Residents of the planned townships would need jobs close enough. Otherwise, the idea of decongesting the city woud not work out. Some locations such as Bidadi, the first that is planned to be developed, and Nelamangala are already locations for several major and ancillary industries.

Others may attract investors if the necessary infrastructure is available.

President of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA), Hareesh P. Hegde said: "The satellite towns will need a lot of infrastructure besides land for industries.

There has to be space for residences, educational institutions, hospitals and shopping facilities. No one residents will want to drive a long distance to Bangalore for their essential needs," he said.

Mr. Hegde said that to avoid controversy, the satellite towns should come up on barren or dry land and not on rich farmland which could raise two crops a year. Farmers should not be displaced for the townships, he added.

A spokesperson for Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) said the Bangalore-Mysore infrastructure project had included a township near Bidadi and this was apparently being opposed by the Government.

"While our township needs 2,775 acres of land, that proposed by the Government may need much more land and more farmers are likely to be affected'' he said.

Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Secretary-General T. Ramappa said the satellite towns had to be very carefully planned to suit the city's global image.

"Unless they are self-contained in every way, the usual morning and evening traffic rush to the city will begin and the very purpose of decongesting Bangalore will be defeated'' he said.

Connectivity between the satellite towns and Bangalore, preferably in the shape of a larger mass transit system, would be needed, he said. Being the closest major city, Bangalore would attract at least weekend traffic from the townships and a public transportation system should be able to cope with that demand, he said.

The proposal for a 275-km Satellite Towns Ring Road has been welcomed by the industry. This would meet the needs of industries that needed to procure raw material and ship finished products, industrialists said.