BANGALORE
Road widening in Bangalore City has been a smoldering issue for quite some time.
Road widening in Bangalore City has been a smoldering issue for quite some time. Off and on, the Palike and government talk of it stealing the sleep of property owners, majority of who happen to be petty shop owners and small property holders.
I have participated in many discussions on the issue and my party manifesto too has dealt with it. I believe the issue, though of great import to people, is not impossible to solve if there is a political will. At the outset, I must say broadening and beautifying city roads are necessary. How to achieve it is the only contentious issue.
First, let us not lose sight of two things:
> An overwhelming number of 40,000 property holders who are called upon to yield part of their property are small holders and long-time tenants.
> Under the transfer of development rights (TDR) scheme, tenants have no legal sanctity, so they get nothing but lose their livelihood.
Without addressing these two issues, road widening cannot achieve its goal. Small holders who lose one-third or two-third of their property have virtually lost their holding, and it is the man next behind him who is the beneficiary.
How to solve this? One way is to give them alternative site with basic amenities so they could carry on their lives despite some hardship. The other option is giving them market rate which the broke Palike cannot afford.
Long-time tenants must become stake holders in the scheme. Ignoring them is a major drag on the scheme. As TDR is of little value to the small holders, this tool will not help unless a trading mechanism is built and government guarantees its buy-back in the event of holders unable to make use of it.
No amount of discussion can work out the issue. The only possible and quick way is for the chief minister who holds the portfolio of BBMP, BDA and BMRDA to take initiative and entrust the advisory committee headed by Dr A Ravindra to suggest practical ways to deal with the issue. Our party manifesto had pointed out that the best way to tackle the situation without harming the affected people is to make BDA identify chunks of land not too far away from the city and relocate the affected people by providing them with amenities like transport, water and communication.
A 500 acres or 1000 acre is no big deal if the government wants it. The whole issue can be solved without TDR and litigation. It is no use thinking of any other measure. The adage ‘better late than never’ is most apt here.
— The writer is MLA and former minister of Karnataka
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