BMRDA lifts ban on land conversion

BMRDA lifts ban on land conversion
Work To Resume In January As Masterplan Is Completed
The Times of India

Bangalore: Come January, land conversion and layout development activities, which had been stopped for five months in Bangalore Rural district, will be back on track. For, the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) has completed the preparation of interim master plan for six towns.
Development and construction activities in Bangalore Rural — Magadi, Nelamangala, Kanakapura, Hoskote, Anekal and Ramanagara-Channapatna-Bidadi covering 3,000 sq km — had been put on hold in July when the government banned land conversion to help BMRDA prepare its masterplan. BMRDA, in turn, kept in abeyance building plan approvals and layout development applications. It had asked the deputy commissioner to stop issuing land conversion orders.
Authorities have now completed the preparation of interim masterplan and submitted the report to government. “We completed the task in November-end, one month before the deadline. However, there were apprehensions about BMRDA completing the project on time. Once the government approves the masterplan, then the local planning authorities will get the comprehensive masterplan done,’’ BMRDA officials told
The Times of India.
The water table situation of all the six towns has been studied which has painted a grim picture in Hoskote and Anekal. A separate study had been commissioned to get an insight into the water situation in these towns and to submit proposals for improving the situation.
The ban on land conversion was challenged by the developers in the high court which upheld the BMRDA’s move. The court had observed that though a general ban on land conversion cannot be imposed, the BMRDA and deputy commissioner can have their discretion on the issue, keeping in view the regulated development of these areas.
THE PLOT
BMRDA awards masterplan preparation work to six different firms to ensure speedy completion
The Rs 1.5-crore project captures spatial data with 2.5-metre- and 5.8-metre-resolution satellite images
The images identify government lands, forest area owned by different agencies, water bodies belonging to various authorities, valley zones
Development and construction activities in Bangalore Rural — Magadi, Nelamangala, Kanakapura, Hoskote, Anekal and Ramanagara-Channapatna-Bidadi covering 3,000 sq km — had been put in abeyance in July 2006
Authorities have now completed the preparation of interim masterplan and submitted the report to government
With the preparation of masterplan, land conversion activities will spring to life