BDA in con act: 5,000 sites a mirage to pocket public money?

Bengaluru: The BDA’s offer of 5,000 residential sites in the newly formed Kempegowda Layout is a cruel joke played on one crore Bengalureans. The BDA has invited applications for the sites, kindling the hopes of lakhs of Bengalureans, who are aspiring to own a plot in the IT City. But the reading between the lines makes it clear that the applicants will be taken for a ride. After one or two years, the applicants will realise that they will not get the sites and that the agency has pocketed the interest amount accrued from their security deposits.

For starters, the BDA has to honour 8,000 successful applicants who were deprived of sites in the Arkavathy Layout, thanks to the denotification scam involving several chief ministers. The rules that govern the BDA clearly state that the sites have to be allotted on the basis of seniority. In that list, there are already 1.4 lakh applicants who have applied repeatedly over the years. Fresh set of applicants will only make the waiting list longer. For just 5,000 sites, there will be at least two lakh applicants who will never get to see their plots.

Also, BDA’s offer does not come with any cost advantage as the price will be on par with the properties developed by private realtors. The Kempegowda Layout, located between Rajarajeshwari Hospital on Mysuru Road and till Tavarekere, is on the outskirts of the city and the BDA has paid between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1 crore per acre to acquire land. Going by this, the BDA can allot sites only at around Rs 2,000 per sqft.

In all probability, the Kempegowada Layout will be the last area to be developed by the BDA in the city. However, it will sit over a kitty of Rs 4,000 crore, the security deposits from the applicants, for two years before refunding it to the applicants.