Unused civic amenity sites may soon become parks

Unused civic amenity sites may soon become parks

Bosky Khanna Bangalore



The BDA, which is conducting a survey of civic amenity (CA) sites in the city, will re-possess those sites that have not been used or developed.
BDA commissioner Siddaiah said on Friday that a report of the total number of allotted and vacant CA sites in the city would be prepared after the survey. Unused sites would then be developed into parks, play grounds and lung spaces, he said.
"All CA sites that have been allotted and not developed will be taken back. They will then be re-developed. This has been done in HSR Layout, where many CA sites were cancelled and parks were made. This will provide more lung spaces for people," Siddaiah said.
He was responding to residents' queries on the vacant site in Koramangala that was leased to Anand Education Trust 25 years ago, but was still lying vacant. "It should be acquired by the BDA again and made into a park and playgrounds as there are only a few open public places in Koramangala," Vijayan Menon, secretary of Koramangala 1st Main Association, said.
Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Rajya Sabha MP, said citizens, especially resident welfare associations, should take stock of the number of CA sites in their locality and keep the authorities updated about them. Residents should inform the BDA about misuse of sites and also those lying vacant. The unoccupied sites could be converted into parks and playgrounds, the MP, who inspected the site, along with the BDA commissioner and residents of Koramangala on Friday, said.
Koramangala has 45 CA sites; in Bangalore, there are 1,363 CA sites, of which around 15% are estimated to be vacant.
As per the BDA Act, 1976, a CA site is a site earmarked for a civic amenity in a layout formed by the authority or a site earmarked for a civic amenity in a private layout, approved and relinquished to it by the authority.