BDA likely to develop industrial townships

BDA likely to develop industrial townships

The Hindu

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is likely to venture into developing industrial areas and integrated townships.

To this effect, it has proposed an amendment to the BDA Act, which enabled the formation of the BDA. The amendment has been approved by the Legislative Assembly and is awaiting the approval from the Council. "The BDA, when formed, was to mainly develop residential sites and provide services. The proposed amendment empowers the BDA to go ahead with land acquisition for the purposes of industrial development," BDA Commissioner M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda told The Hindu on Sunday.

A project likely to benefit immediately from the amendment when it comes through is the Hi-Tech City and the Hi-Tech corridor that the BDA planned a year ago to cater to the needs of the burgeoning needs of the software sector.

Township

The Rs. 490-crore integrated township project was scheduled to come up between Sarjapur Road and Hosur Road but it was halted after a public interest litigation petition was filed before the High Court challenging the land acquisition by the BDA.

The contention was that the BDA could only develop residential layouts and not acquire land for industrial purposes.

The township, when planned, involved acquisition of 997 acres in 12 villages under Varthur, Sarjapur and Begur hoblis. The land thus acquired would be sold in parcels of 10, 15 and 25 acres up to a maximum of 100 acres to software and technology oriented companies as the township had been envisioned for these companies.

The six-lane 8.5 km. expressway, called the Hi- Tech Corridor, will be built to connect the Bangalore Airport with the Electronics City on Hosur Road.