CM Bommai plans 4 new satellite towns around Bengaluru, 6 integrated cities in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday mooted the idea of building four new Bengalurus around Bengaluru' and six integrated towns in Karnataka.
Foreseeing that Bengaluru's population will go up to around three to four crores in 2040 from the existing 1.3 crores, Bommai opined that the city should be developed like a planet surrounded by satellites.
Bengaluru should be, according to me, like a planet where there will be satellite towns along with the best of connectivity with rail, road, hi-tech travel systems and easy mode of transportation for the passengers, Bommai said during the Bengaluru 2040 Summit, which was organised by Deccan Herald.
Elaborating further, he said there was a need to create infrastructure for connecting Bengaluru and develop a new Bengaluru'.
At least four new Bengalurus have to be built around Bengaluru and in between these four, we can have different types of activities such as health city and integrated industrial township, including those related to aerospace and defence related industry, the Chief Minister said.
According to him, these satellite towns will have all the amenities. Bommai opined that the time was ripe for Bengaluru to go vertical as the city has grown horizontally enough and added new localities.
Introducing a new slogan Nava Karnataka Dinda Nava Bharata' (New India through New Karnataka), Bommai said he is planning six new integrated cites in the state.
Noting that he has introduced many novel proposals and schemes in the state budget that were missing in the previous budgets, the Chief Minister said: "One of the new things is I am planning to build six new cities in the state. These will be integrated townships. They will be the models for building cities in a planned manner.
The Chief Minister told the gathering that his government will create six Karnataka Institutes of Technology on the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology for those students who cannot make it to these premier institutions.
Bommai also apprised the audience that he is planning to 'unlock' land for the poor people to have their own houses.
With regard to Mekedatu balancing reservoir project across Cauvery river, which the lower riparian state Tamil Nadu is opposed to, Bommai said his government is working on it.
We will shortly get the DPR ready and the process of the environmental clearance will be started. That's why I have kept money (Rs 1,000 crore in the 2022-23 budget). I am confident that we will start the Mekedatu project this year. Once that is done, a long term plan for Bengaluru can be done, he said.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
