Here BDA can’t match quality with quantity of sites

Here BDA can’t match quality with quantity of sites

BANGALORE: As many as 42,000 sites are to be developed in three new layouts in the city at a cost of Rs 3,828 crore. The government’s latest announcement to create more residential space sounds impressive but a tour of the layouts developed by the BDA in the last decade showed a severe lack of even basic facilities. Water is likely to be available only in 2011.

Even as BDA develops newly-added BBMP areas at Rs 623 crore, three of its most recently developed layouts have few tarred roads, no water and sanitary facilities.

In the last decade, BDA developed and allotted around 50,000 sites at Anjanapura, Banashankari 6th Stage and Sir M Visvesvaraya layouts. But a complete lack of water supply and adequate security
has meant that there are hardly a handful of houses that have come up in the area.

The main grouse of almost all the allottees is that there is no water supply to any of the layouts. The situation doesn’t look like improving anytime soon.

BWSSB chief engineer Venkataraju says, residents of these layouts must wait till 2011 for water. “As of now there are only few houses. As the houses are sparsely distributed, it is not feasible to provide water exclusively to these houses.

We will be able to provide water to these layouts by 2011, when Cauvery phase 2 becomes operational and there will be enough houses to provide water to,” he said.

The allottees claim that they can’t build houses without water supply.

For now, the few residents that are present in the area are making do with water from borewells or tankers.

“We have to pay Rs 150 per tanker and this lasts us a week. We were promised, at the time of allotment, that all facilities will be provided to us. But it’s been nine years since, but we still don’t have water or sanitary facilities,” said Ramesh Babu, resident of 11 Block Anjanapura.

Another complaint of residents in these areas in the lack of security.

According to residents, the burglary of a house in Anjanapura on Thursday morning (see box) was just one of the many that occurred here.

Lakshman, a resident says that the houses are isolated making them easy targets for burglars. All three layouts have power supply but except for the main roads, most of the roads here are untarred.

All this and the global economic crisis has meant a crash in the market value of these sites. Sites which were being sold at Rs 2000 per sq foot, is now being offered at Rs 1200 per sq foot. “There are more than 500 sites up for sale but there are no buyers,” said Shivkumar, a real estate agent in Anjanapura. It’s the same scene in BSK 6th stage, where sites priced at Rs 2,300 are being offered at Rs 1,700 per sq foot.

On Feb 28, the cabinet approved three new layouts to be named after former chief ministers.

Anjanapura Layout

Allotted in: March 2001 Number of BDA sites:12,340 Status: No BWSSB water supply in the entire area, sanitary facilities and tarred roads are found only in a few places.

BSK 6th Stage

Allotted in: October 2001 Number of BDA sites: 15,800 Status: No BWSSB water supply in the entire area, sanitary facilities only in few areas. Only the main roads are tarred.

Sir M Visvesvaraya Layout

Number of BDA sites:21,239 Status: No proper BWSSB water supply in the area, only few roads are done up.