Sale deeds for 12,000 families in slums

Sale deeds for 12,000 families in slums
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Bangaloreans, particularly the poorer ones, will benefit the most by Wednesday’s cabinet decisions. With the Lok Sabha elections in mind, the government announced a bonanza for slum dwellers and illegal building owners. Following the implementation of the Delimitation Commission report, Bangalore now has four Lok Sabha seats.
SALE DEEDS: The cabinet decided to issue sale deeds to around 12,000 families in various slums. All they have to do is pay Rs 200 per sq metre and they can own the land on which they live. The previous government gave only the title deed but decided to issue sale deed only if they paid Rs 1,050 per sq m. “Slum dwellers who have completed a lease period for over 10 years will be eligible for applying for the sale deed,’’ said primary and secondary education minister Visvesvara Hedge Kageri.
BUILDINGS REGULARIZATION:
Unauthorized buildings on revenue land in Bangalore will be regularized. While the cabinet last month decided to regularize buildings only in BBMP limits, Wednesday’s decision extended it to even unauthorized buildings under planning authority area, municipal corporations and city municipal councils. Only those buildings whose plans sanctioned by December 31, 2008 by local authorities will be eligible. Nearly 5 lakh unauthorized buildings could be regularized under this scheme.
KASTURIRANGAN REPORT: The cabinet decided to constitute a sub-committee to study and implement recommendations by an expert committee constituted on Greater Bangalore headed by former space scientist and MP K Kasturirangan.
A major recommendation is to have a non-bureaucrat commissioner to head BBMP. The report highlighted that government should constitute a high-power search committee to appoint this commissioner in consultation with the mayor for a fixed term of three years. The Kasturirangan report talks of bringing radical changes in administration — setting up of an umbrella agency, the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) which includes 8,000 sq km of area covered by BMRDA. Another major recommendation is that the mayor, elected directly by the people, should have a 5-year tenure.
WATER SUPPLY: BWSSB’s jurisdiction be enlarged to cover the metropolitan region. A special purpose vehicle be established under joint ownership of BWSSB and BBMP to manage retail distribution of water supply in BBMP area
TRANSPORT: Newly created Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority be strengthened by giving it a statutory basis. The BMTC’s jurisdiction should be extended to cover the BMR.
CABINET DECISIONS
End for Maytas
Weeks after the committee headed by chief secretary Sudhakar Rao recommended to the government to issue notice to Maytas Infra Ltd, the cabinet on Wednesday approved serving of notice on the company. Satyam Computerspromoted Maytas Infra is involved in some of the key infrastructure development projects in the state on publicprivate partnership (PPP) basis, including building of Shimoga and Gulbarga airports.
Now, with the cabinet nod, it is almost certain the government will sever ties with Maytas and review the contractors for Shimoga and Gulbarga airports.
The infrastructure development department (IDD), the nodal agency to execute airport clearances, had signed a project development agreement with the consortium consisting of Maytas, TNN