The Times of India                 19.10.2010

BANGALORE: Your regular transactions with the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) could become easy and transparent through kiosks and online banking. Very soon, you can even use your mobile for any transaction with the BDA.

The BDA on Tuesday signed an MoU with the Corporation Bank. It's a two-year agreement during which the bank will develop IT solutions and integrate with the BDA server for all financial services -- collection of application fee, property taxes, rents, online payments and e-auctions.

The rent payments of BDA properties are already into the new mode. These services will be extended to property tax collections shortly. Within a month, the bank will also set up kiosks/service counters at BDA for banking services.

As per the MoU, Corporation Bank will extend credit limits to BDA for its various projects, including site allotments. There are plans to sanction loans at `attractive' interest rates to applicants for BDA sites/houses. Application letter for the sites can also be routed through the bank across Karnataka. Yet another good news is that loan facilities will be extended to landowners displaced on account of BDA's Land Acquisition Act.

"The main objective is to achieve synergy between the two organizations, keeping customers as the key focus. The arrangement is to ensure better transparency in transactions. It will look into the financial needs of land losers,'' BDA commissioner Bharat Lal Meena said.

BDA HOUSES FOR EWS?

Subsidized housing units for the economically weaker sections (EWS) and middle-income groups (MIGs) are among the new BDA projects this year.

Nearly 200 acres of the 300-acre land earmarked for this project has already been transferred to BDA. According to officials, tenders have already been floated for EWS housing units at Valagerehalli near Kengeri and Nandini Layout at Nagarabhavi.

"To begin with, BDA will take up these projects at its own cost. However, the bank may extend loan facilities to applicants. We are planning similar units at eight other places that include Electronic City, Peenya and Whitefield,'' Meena told TOI.

These housing units will be similar to those built under the Basic Services for Urban Poor scheme. The only difference is it's not under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the applicants will have to pay up entirely for these subsidized houses.