The transfer of land owned by the Ministry of Defence to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) came through on Tuesday. The BBMP received a letter from the Ministry of Defence in this regard, and land measuring 45,165.8 sq.m., or 11.17 acres, will be handed over in exchange for land of equal value elsewhere, said sources in the civic body.
The move has brought much relief to the BBMP as many key projects were in limbo for want of land. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had participated in a meeting in August 2018 to sort out issues pertaining to defence land acquisition. During the meeting, the ministry had agreed to hand over the land in exchange for land of equal value.
The State government had identified 209.8 acres in and around the city worth ₹488 crore.
As per the conditions, land of equal value has to be given to local military authorities within two months of receiving the letter. The BBMP will have to construct / reconstruct / shift / relocate all assets and services located on the defence land proposed to be transferred at its own cost. The civic body will also have to pay the cost of trees required to be cut for the infrastructure projects, as assessed by the Forest Department.
In a letter to the BBMP, the ministry has noted that since part of the land required by the civic body for the widening of the Hosur-Laskar Road is also requested by the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd., the two agencies will have to coordinate with each other once the land swap is completed. The land transfer will happen after the BBMP submits an undertaking to the ministry about abiding by the conditions.
Some of the key projects that will now be taken up include construction of a road from Ejipura Inner Ring Road to Sarjapura Main Road, a road connecting NH-7 up to Sanjivinagara in Byatarayanapura, and another connecting NH-7 to Hebbal Sarovara Layout via AMCO Layout in Kodigehalli.