Proposed Bengaluru South district: So who exactly does it benefit?

On July 9, a team of Congress leaders led by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar petitioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to rename the Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South. Urban experts say the demand comes mainly with an eye on real estate gains.

Urban experts say the demand to change the name of Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South comes mainly with an eye on real estate gains.

Developers’ view

Suresh Hari, secretary of CREDAI Karnataka, expects a 10-15% increase in property prices in Ramanagara district if the name change goes through.

“It is a known fact that there is a big price difference between property rates in Bengaluru Urban and the suburbs. Go a little towards the suburban area, and you already see a fall in property prices by 20-25%,” he says.

The Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway is already helping Ramanagara district, and areas along Mysuru Road and Kanakapura Road have already seen an increase in property prices, he told Metrolife.

Reduce B’luru load

Civic activist Srinivas Alavilli believes the move can help sway investments away from Bengaluru and into other pockets of the state not too far from the city. “Everybody wants to invest in Bengaluru. For years we have been trying to push people to invest in Mysuru, Hubballi, Dharwad, and other parts of the state. But nothing seems to work. So, maybe calling this part of Karnataka Bengaluru South will reduce the load on Bengaluru city,” he says.

Name hierarchy

Sometimes a name can bring about change and create a brand, believes Naresh Narasimhan, architect and urban designer. “For example, Gangenahalli has now become Ganganagar. There are many such examples within the city. The new name might sound vaguely better to some investors. ‘Nagara’ is better than ‘Ooru’, and ‘Ooru’ is better than ‘Halli’ or ‘Palya’. There’s a hierarchy of village names in Karnataka,” he explains.

Administration key

Another well-known civic expert is of the opinion that the name change will not bring about any major changes. “Nothing changes except the name. Everything in terms of jurisdiction, district, and law and order remains the same. If this is the case, then the potential benefit of better recognition, not just across the country, but worldwide, might bring in some real estate gains,” he says.

He sheds light on a similar instance in 2007 when seven City Municipal Councils, one Town Municipal Council, and 110 villages around the city were brought together to form a single administrative area called Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. “This included localities like Mahadevapura and Yelahanka which have seen good development now. But that is due to administrative change, not a mere name change,” he says.

NCR model

If the idea is to signal to the world that Ramanagara district is a part of Bengaluru, there is a better way to do it, suggests Ashwin Mahesh, an urban expert.

“Call the entire region from Hoskote to Ramanagara and Nelamangala to Hosur the Bangalore Metropolitan Region. That is already the case. Rather than renaming Ramanagara district, expand Bengaluru Urban district to include the entire metropolitan region. Then there will be a governing and planning body for the entire area which can work within the framework of how Bengaluru is imagined and grown,” he elaborates.

Creation of bigger metropolitan districts is inevitable, he states. “If not today, then sometime down the road, the Central government will surely propose large metropolitan districts. They already have the notion of the National Capital Region (NCR) in Delhi. At some point there will be a proposal for a State Capital Region around Bengaluru. It is better if the move comes from the state government,” he explains.

DKS' push for a new name

On July 9, a team of Congress leaders led by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar petitioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to rename the Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South. The proposal was first introduced by Shivakumar in October last year. The proposed Bengaluru South district will comprise Ramanagara, Channapatna, Magadi, Kanakapura and Harohalli taluks. It will have Ramanagara as its headquarters. The proposal gains significance as it comes ahead of an Assembly bypoll in Channapatna. The move is also being seen as a political statement by Shivakumar against Union Minister and JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy. It was Kumaraswamy, who as CM, created Ramanagara district in 2007.

Airport factor

Ramanagara is 80 km from Hosur, where Tamil Nadu is planning a new airport, and 82 km from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengalur