Aerial view of Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout.
DH file Photo
Bengaluru: Nearly half of the 34,000 sites in Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout in northern Bengaluru will be sold at the market rate, making them unaffordable for many.
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has fixed Rs 4,900 per square foot as the price for sites of three dimensions, including 30x40 and 40x60, and plans to allot them to the general public by the end of this financial year. This is equivalent to the prevailing market price.
Reliable sources in the BDA confirmed to DH that the authority fixed the price at its recent board meeting. Initially, officials considered differential pricing based on the dimension of sites but later stuck to Rs 4,900 per square foot for all categories, a standard practice it followed while allotting sites in the past.
Comparatively, the BDA sold the sites for a much lower price at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout in 2016 and 2018 even though the authority had not yet provided basic infrastructure such as roads and drains. The price ranged between Rs 2,200 and Rs 2,400 per square foot. The response from the public was marginally poor as the BDA had goofed up its previous project Arkavathy Layout by delaying the site allotment to buyers.
The BDA, however, believes that Shivaram Karanth Layout’s proximity to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and the upcoming Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) will attract a good response from the public. As the project was supervised by the Supreme Court committee led by retired judge Justice AV Chandrashekar, there is a perception that the BDA has followed the norms by earmarking adequate space for parks and playgrounds.
The layout, which is spread across 17 villages such as Harohalli, Avalahalli, Ramagondanahalli, Kempanahalli, Jarakabande Kaval, Doddabettahalli, Vaderahalli etc, is expected to have a total of 34,000 sites. Of these, the BDA is required to first compensate farmers who parted with the land by allotting the developed sites in return. Close to 15,000 sites will likely be up for grabs to the general public.
While farmers parted with the land at least two years ago, they have not been compensated yet. So far, the BDA has completed the formation of 30,000 sites and numbered around 25,000 sites. There has, however, been a delay on the part of BDA in starting the process of allotting sites both to the farmers and the public.
This time, the BDA has offered to build houses for the 20x30 allottees on an optional basis.
Pricepoints Rs 4900 per sqft for sites of all dimensions 30x40 site to costRs 58.8 lakh 34000 sites at Shivaram Karanth Layout 15000 sites may be reserved for farmers and the rest for the general public. Basic work such as forming drains and numbering of sites is nearing completion.