New pastures for IT

New pastures for IT
By P M Raghunandan, DH News Service, Bangalore:
Bangalore Development Authority's (BDA) Master Plan-2015 has earmarked 12,866 acres of land for information technology sector use.


IT sector jostling for space in the technology hub, can now heave a sigh of relief. Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) Master Plan-2015 has earmarked 12,866 acres of land for information technology sector use.

This mainly covers Whitefield, Varthur, Begur, Electronic City and Anjanapura (in south and south-eastern part) and Kengeri (in Western part) Planning Districts. Electronic City and Whitefield will be especially developed as IT dominant zones under the plan.

Planning districts (PDs) are boundaries drawn up by BDA based on the development trends in its jurisdiction. BDA has carved the Bangalore metropolitan region into 47 PDs. Further, these PDs are categories into three -- core area, urban area and urban extension area.

In fact, the master plan, which was recently approved by the Government, has for the first time introduced “hi-tech” as a land use category. Hitherto, hitech was treated as a part of industrial sector.

Apart from more space, the plan has recommended a series of steps to support and promote IT development in these areas like high-speed roads for good connectivity and housing.

Besides, the master has made provision to spread IT activities, now confined to south Bangalore, to other parts of Bangalore as well. It has proposed to develop a 1,025 acre IT corridor on the western side (along Magadi road) in Kengeri PD. The plan has also earmarked land in Byatarayanapura (46 hectares), Bavalakere (46 hectares) and Horamavu (70 hectares) for hitech use.

“We want to extend IT activities in the western part of Bangalore by developing an IT corridor on Magadi road. This is to ease the burden on the south and to balance the city’s growth, BDA Commissioner Shankarlinge Gowda said.

Taking note of the crying need for upgradation of infrastructure in the IT belt of Whitefield and Electronic City, BDA’s master plan has analysed the problem in each of these PDs and recommended solutions to be implemented by either the local body or the local planning authority.

To address transportation and housing problems, BDA has planned to make use of adjacent areas. For instance, Anjanapura and Sadar Mangala PDs (which are located next to Electronic City and Whitefield respectively) have been planned to be used as transportation (logistic) hubs to support IT sector.

Besides, residential, mainly mixed, land use is also allowed to promote work-live-play concept. In fact, for this reason for BDA has decided to take up mega housing projects in both south (along Varthur Road to Sarjapura Road and Hosur Road) and west (between Mysore Road and Magadi Road) in Bangalore.

As many as 96,000 residential housing units and 11,560 sites will be developed in the south, while 48,000 housing units and 16,200 sites will be developed in the west by the BDA in the coming days. The master plan has also made provisions for commercial activities in these areas.

So, it has permitted mutation corridor and commercial axis status with additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) on majority of the main roads.


MASTER PLAN FOR HITECH PDs

Whitefield

*970 hectares of total 3,630 hectares for hitech use

*Promoting the PD as hitech zone

*Promoting Sardar Mangala as transport logistic hub

*Designating Varthur, ORR, ITPL Whitefield, Whitefield, Hudi and Bhattacharyya roads as mutation corridors

*Designating Marathahalli and Channappahalli, Ashwathnagar as residential main

*Designating Hoskote Main Road as mutation corridor

*Organising traffic on Varthur road and OOR junction

Varthur

*547 hectares of total 4,264 for hitech use

*Promoting conditions necessary for IT activities

*Designating Bhoganahalli as hitech zone

*Promoting villages are mixed residential

*Protect ing valleys and tanks

Begur


*547 hectares of total 4,264 for hitech use

*Designating hitech corridor to be developed by BDA

*Designating major part of the area as mixed residential

*Designating Sarjapur, ORR and Hosur roads are mutation corridors

Electronic city

*1,461 hectares of total 2,473 for hitech use

*Developing IT dominant zone around Electronic City on both sides of Hosur road

*Promoting IT by offering state-of-the-art facilities in terms of infrastructure

*Organising new layouts coming up adjacent to IT areas

*Consider developing intersection between Hosur Road and proposed peripheral road as
transportation Interchange hub

Kengeri

*376 hectares of total 7,296 for hitech use

*An IT park to be developed

*BDA to take up mega residential housing projects

*Protecting greenery

*Integrating Kengeri bus stand with railway station

*Link Uttarahalli road, Nagarabhavi road and Kanakapura road

(Note: Only PDs where vast extent of land is
allowed for hitech use are taken into consideration)

THE EXPERTS SAY...

It is favourable to IT sector provided the earmarked land is used for IT alone. It should not be used for any other purpose. The land should be allotted to actual IT companies otherwise it will be real estate business, as usual.
In the name of IT, lots of other projects are being sanctioned. It should not be done.

T V Mohan Das Pai,
Infosys Director (HRD)

It is a welcome move. The State government has not given an inch of land for several years now.
There is no space at all anywhere. If the BDA Master Plan 2015 has proposed to allot over 12,000 acres for IT sector, it is good.

Venkat Kedlaya,
MD Convergent Communication

It is really good. If the government does not provide land, companies will move out. IT companies loss is the State’s loss. The land demarketed should be used for IT sector only. I also welcome BDA’s move to extend IT activities in western B’lore. This part basically has residential areas, while south and east parts are IT dominant. It needs to be balanced.

Ananth Koppar,
Chairman and CEO, K2 Technology

What one must understand is it is not allotment. The government has only earmarked certain amount of land for hitech use. In other words, this land is basically private land and the permission is given for hitech land use. Of course, it is good.

The State government must ensure that this land is used for only hitech purposes. Besides, the government should provide necessary infrastructure.

Jayakar Jerome,
former BDA commissioner