Road widening move worries property owners

Road widening move worries property owners

Krishnaprasad

‘Some houses will be left with only the bathroom and toilet’

BBMP stops building plan sanctions for the marked properties

It says property owners yet to understand the DRC concept

Bangalore: Is your property located on either side of 45 roads identified for widening by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike? If so, you will not be able to build or renovate the structures as the BBMP will not sanction plans for these purposes unless you give an undertaking to leave the specified length of the land for widening of the road under the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) scheme.

The value of the properties situated on either side of the roads identified for widening has come down sharply as the BBMP has marked the compound walls of such properties with red paint indicating the extent of land required for widening.

These developments have shaken the property owners, mainly those who depend on their properties for livelihood and shelter.

Rafiq Ahmed, a real estate agent from Lingarajapuram, pointed out that red markings on the properties acted as a “warning” for the property owners and the buyers causing a sharp decline in property value. “I had almost finalised the sale of a residential property on Hennur Road near Lingarajapuram but the deal was cancelled as the BBMP, a couple of weeks ago, made a mark on the property indicating that about 7 metres of it will be acquired for the road. The length of the property was about 35 feet and the buyer would have been compelled to leave 22 ft for road widening if he had purchased it. Now the land owner is worried,” he said.

Shivakumar, an engineer supervising construction of a building on Hennur Road, said that he had stopped construction midway after the BBMP marked that five metres of that particular property would be required for widening the road. “What can we do with a certificate when we lose shelter over our head? Some of us will lose entire property; some houses will lose kitchen and hall; some others will be left with only bathroom and toilets on the backside of the property.

People with money can buy property elsewhere or those having property at other places can survive but what about those who are having only one property as a shelter,” asked M. Shivaswamy, a resident of Lingarajapuram.

When contacted, the BBMP officials said new construction or renovation was allowed only when the land owners come out with a plan leaving the required length of the property for road widening.

They claimed that the Development Rights Certificates issued in lieu of land surrendered would fetch a good amount for the land owners and people had to understand this scheme.