Bengaluru: In a bid to prevent unplanned urbanisation from choking future infrastructure projects, the state govt is set to notify a network of proposed road corridors in rapidly developing areas outside Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) area, asking residents and developers to verify designated alignments before undertaking new construction.Announcing the move Tuesday, Bengaluru development minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the notification aims to safeguard land required for future road widening and Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) roads under the Revised Master Plan, as Bengaluru expands beyond its current limits.Govt has identified roads connecting taluk headquarters, hobli centres, district roads, state highways, Peripheral Ring Road and Satellite Town Ring Road as part of a larger road grid planned for Bengaluru’s future growth corridors.While details on the total number and length of roads were not immediately available, Gowda said maps of the corridors, along with video documentation of their present condition, would be uploaded on the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) website.Officials estimate Bengaluru’s urban footprint, currently around 750sqkm, could expand to between 1,400sqkm and 1,800sqkm as development spreads into surrounding areas. Gowda said nearly 110 villages were earlier brought into the city’s limits without adequate infrastructure planning, making subsequent acquisition of land for roads, water supply and drainage difficult and expensive.“Whether we like it or not, urbanisation around Bengaluru is inevitable. If we don’t plan now, the same problems being faced within Bengaluru today will be repeated on the city’s outskirts tomorrow,” he said.The minister said govt had moved to protect land earmarked for future road widening and CDP roads before large-scale development takes place. According to drone surveys conducted by the authorities, nearly 90% of the land required for the proposed corridors remains greenfield, while about 10% has witnessed development.According to Gowda, landowners would be required to leave space earmarked for roads and could use the remaining portion for construction and development. He urged landowners, builders and prospective homebuyers to consult the notified plans on the BMRDA website before undertaking projects.The notification will cover hundreds of roads, many proposed to be widened from existing widths of around 10 metres to 30 metres, 45 metres and, in some cases, up to 90 metres. Development of the network is expected to take place in phases over the coming years, but officials said notifying the corridors now would help secure land needed for Bengaluru’s future infrastructure.
