Road-widening project still stuck on paper

Road-widening project still stuck on paper
BMP Says Defence Authorities, Residents Pose Huge Roadblocks
The Times of India

Bangalore: Apart from being New Year’s Eve, December 31 was the deadline for civic authorities to complete widening of 12 roads on priority. A deadline set by chief minister H D Kumaraswamy himself.
And the status: Work in progress, on paper.
Over two years after the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) was entrusted with the task of widening roads in Bangalore, not a single road has actually been widened. For instance, Hosur Road was the first stretch for the exercise. Thirty metres of land on either side were identified, compounds were fenced out and yet, the road remains in the same status. With the same traffic juggernaut.
Widening roads using the provisions of Transferable Development Scheme (TDR), was a scheme approved by the state government in January 2005. In the scheme, a person who gives up his/her property for civic works, gets additional floor area to a tune of 1.5 times of the acquired land. This will be given in the form of Development Rights Certificate, which he can sell to a property owner, who wants to upgrade the building or use it in his own property.
However, many meetings and issual of notices later, the scheme is still stuck with the same initial roadblocks. To start with, BMP officials explain that defence authorities posed the starting stumbling block by prolonging the approval process. A total of 44,464 sq mts of land belonging to the Defence was pending approval, a final nod is awaited still.
Engineers at the BMP explain that the task they face is an Herculean one — convincing people to part with land. “For a year we have been going road to road, identifying the specifics required and trying to convince people that the land required is for public good. We have explained the concept of TDR, but they are just not willing. They are demanding an alternate site with house or market compensation,” explain engineers associated with the project.
PROGESS THUS FAR
Topographical survey completed for 30 roads
Very few private property owners are accepting TDR forms and surrendering land for road widening
Road alignment for 12 roads has been approved and DPRs for 6 roads completed
Land cost for private properties in taken through land acquisition at present market rate for 12 roads amounts to Rs 266 crore