The lack of demand for transferable development rights (TDR) has made the government increase its value from 2 to 3 times of the property’s value. With this, a property owner who loses a square foot of land will get TDR of 3 sq ft.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said a meeting was held with the chief secretary to decide on the long-pending proposal. “The government has decided to increase the TDR from the existing 2 to 3 times the value of the property (guidance value),” he said during the BBMP Council meeting on Monday.
“A decision has also been taken to make details about the zone-wise TDRs available on the BBMP website. This may include details about where and when the TDRs were issued and to whom. This will serve as a ready-reckoner to citizens,” he added.
The move is expected to make TDR more attractive while easing the land acquisition processes for big projects in the city. Providing monetary compensation for land acquisition has made projects costly for the cash-strapped BBMP.
The commissioner was replying to Council members who raised the issue of delay in issuance of TDR to landowners which sometimes took two years. It was pointed out that MLA of Bommanahalli zone Satish Reddy blamed the engineers and officers for delaying the issuance of TDR certificates with respect to Bannerghatta Road, Sarjapur Road and Begur Road projects.
“Landowners are ready to accept TDRs but the Palike is not issuing them. This is delaying the widening work of all the three roads and in turn, increasing traffic congestion,” said Reddy.
To ease the TDR process, BBMP will set up a single window clearance system with dedicated officers. “This will bring together both BBMP and BDA officials. I will discuss the matter with the BDA commissioner,” Prasad said.
He said that in the meeting with the chief secretary, it was discussed that the verification of documents and issue of TDR certificates be done at the respective doorsteps to prevent any delay.
But the Council members doubted the feasibility of the idea. “If the door-to-door issuance of clearance certificates comes into force, then it will give rise to middlemen, which is not favourable. Also, we do not think that BBMP and BDA officials will collaborate,” pointed out Umesh Shetty, corporator, Govindarajanagar.