The New Indian Express 15.09.2010
State not to go ahead without public consent
BANGALORE: The state government will not go ahead with any road-widening work or development programmes in the state without the consent of the people.Urban Development Minister S Suresh Kumar said this at the inaugural address of a workshop on Transfer of Development Rights (TDR): Pros and Cons and Town Planning Schemes on Tuesday.
He said the government would henceforth consult the public and all the stakeholders on such matters to reduce legal wrangles.
The minister said the process of land acquisition in urban areas under the Land Acquisition Act — for public purposes such as road widening, implementation of infrastructure projects, providing parks and playgrounds and implementation of Master Plan proposals — has led to too many legal complications.
“It has resulted in project delays and cost escalation affecting development,” he said.
On TDRs, he said every stakeholder will be included in the decision-making process. “Without the consent of the public, we will not take forward the TDR scheme,” he said.
According to data from the Major Road Works department of the Palike, 216 roads have been identified in Bangalore for widening with more than 37,000 properties in its 800 sq km jurisdiction.
It is estimated that nearly 40 lakh sq m of land will have to be acquired either through land acquisition or through TDR for the projects.
So far, the palike has acquired only 1.86 lakh sq m under the TDR scheme.
On the basis of an average rate of `2,000 per sq ft, the Palike needs `8608 crore to acquire the land.
Kumar said all local bodies have been asked to submit blue prints of townplans before September 30 to take up development activities.
“TDR is a sophisticated tool, but the problem in Karnataka is with its implementation,” said Swati Ramanathan, co-founder of Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy.
Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada District Ponnuraj said 50 properties were acquired for road widening at Car Street in Mangalore without litigation. “After road-widening, the value of land has gone up three-fold,” he said.
An official from the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India said TDR was a lengthy process in Bangalore. “It takes six months to get an approval whereas in Mumbai or Hyderabad, it is a matter of a fortnight,” he said. “This is why many IT firms are moving to Pune.”
Dr B R Manjunath, convener of SAVE Bangalore Committee, said TDR needed to be inclusive. “Mangalore’s example cannot be used in Bangalore,” he said.
