Bidadi township has no takers

Bidadi township has no takers
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: One of the biggest township projects, but the response is poor. The BMRDA’s proposed township in Bidadi is in a piquant situation now. Only one company has submitted the Request for Proposal (RFP) bid for this Rs 50,000-crore mega-project, which is being modelled on the PPP module.
Of the 32 companies that applied, 24 consortia, including some global firms, were short-listed after they qualified the bids for Request For Qualification (RFQ). These companies were asked to submit RFQs, of which only Delhi-based DLF participated.
Land acquisition, farmers’ resentment, political interference are some of the problems the project face. BMRDA sources said the companies could have opted out as this is a massive project with huge financial implications and also needs sound capital investment.
Companies could have withdrawn because they could not fulfil the conditions laid in the RFP document — time frame for completion, investment, etc.
Even before the project was approved by the government, it kicked off a controversy with farmers agitating over land acquisition. “The project is sure to get into land acquisition problems and compensation squabbles,’’ industry sources added.
DLF’s bid will be accepted only after completing technical and financial evaluations. In case it fails, then the BMRDA will have to invite fresh tenders for the project.
“This will again delay the project as the whole process has taken eight months. At this stage, if the firm is not qualified then fresh applications will be invited,’’ sources added.
The township, spreading over 10,000 acres, is a self-contained project based on the work-live-play concept, which is aimed at reducing the burden on Bangalore.
The government recently announced a compensation and rehabilitation package — acquisition of gramathanas and relocation of residents to the newly developed residential complex, cash compensation ranging between Rs 20-25 lakh per acre and optional compensation by way of giving back a portion of the acquired land to the owner after developing it.
VITAL STATS
Villages to be acquired for township — 10 Land — 9,178.29 acres, including 643 acres of water bodies 2,500 families and 12,000 people to be relocated 3,500 acres of developed land to be given back to farmers as compensation 6,500 acres is area of township with 400 million sqft of buildable area