Sarjapura widening work hits a roadblock

By Manoj Sharma

After failed attempts to acquire land from property owners, BBMP hands over job to govt

It seems that the rift between property owners along Sarjapura Road and the local civic body may not end soon. After repeated failures to convince property owners on Sarjapura Road to give up land in exchange of Transferable Development Rights (TDR), the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has not made any progress. The BBMP may hand over the land acquisition job to the government.
This is for the proposed widening between Ibluru Junction and Carmelaram Junction (4.47 kms).

Though the BBMP issued a work order to the contractor to take up work along the stretch, it could not go ahead as the land that was expected for the project could not be acquired. Currently, the BBMP is taking up the work along the stretch where it currently has government land. The residents along the stretch had refused to take TDR and had demanded for the Metro model compensation from BBMP, which the civic body refused.

Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, an official from the BBMP said, “Since the acquisition has not been done due to residents refusing to give up land for TDRs, the government will take a decision in the matter.”

BBMP claims that it has its own land for about 1.5 kms of the total stretch of 4.47 kms. The BBMP has decided to take up the work along different parcels of land along the identified stretch.

Currently, this stretch sees the worst traffic congestion in the city. This is likely to get worse as more motorists are added each day. The Palike has planned to build a six-lane road along the stretch, including service roads on both sides.

The project will create a 45-metre road for the length of 4.37 km between Ibluru and Carmelaram Junction. The road is currently 80 feet wide and the Palike wants to widen it to 160 feet.

The rift between the property owners and BBMP has caused delays in the project despite many attempts made by Palike to convince property owners to part with their land for the road widening. However, the matter escalated and gave rise to protests after the BBMP identified about 248 properties along the stretch and issued notifications in newspapers.