DH Exclusive: Bengaluru to get three integrated townships

Bengaluru: Three integrated townships are set to come up on Bengaluru's outskirts. 

The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) has revived a two-decade old proposal to develop self-contained towns in the IT City’s suburbs such as Bidadi, Solur near Magadi, and Nandagudi in Hoskote. 

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, has been steering the project. Of the three towns, Bidadi will be taken up first on a pilot basis, officials said. 

As part of the preparatory work, the BMRDA has written to Namma Metro to study the feasibility of connecting these three regions with the metro. Separately, it has also written to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to create infrastructure for supplying potable water. 

Going forward, the BMRDA has a lot on its plate. One, it has sought the state government’s approval to notify a large parcel of land for acquisition. Secondly, the authority is gearing up to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) while the Bengaluru Urban district administration will undertake the social impact assessment study. 

"We are concentrating on three areas as they are connected to the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR)," Rajendra P Cholan, Metropolitan Commissioner of the BMRDA, said. "Bidadi will be taken up first. It is also surrounded by four highways. We are planning an integrated township which will have a mix of commercial such as logistic parks, data centres etc and high-rise residential units." 

He said Nandagudi was chosen as it is situated along the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, which is currently under construction. “Solur was also shortlisted given its proximity to Nelamangala and Bengaluru,” Cholan said. 

These three regions were part of the five suburbs, including Ramanagara and Sathanur, proposed for an integrated development in 2006 when H D Kumaraswamy was the chief minister. The proposal, however, did not take off after the change of government in the state. 

Last November, Siddaramaiah-led government created Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) with a power to take up development works in the BMRDA region, which comprises 12 local planning authorities spread over 8,000 square kilometres. Just like the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the GBDA is likely to take up land acquisition and engineering works in the proposed integrated townships. 

Cholan said the government had already deployed three land acquisition officers for the groundwork. "We will also create an engineering wing. The file is pending before the finance department for approval,” he said. “We are also in touch with many financial institutions to raise the loan.” 

An urban planner said the proposal had been going back and forth for the last two decades. "It had died down just before the Covid-19 pandemic. These integrated townships are notified in the master plan but require a lot of funding as well as the backing of the chief minister,” he said, requesting anonymity.