The State government is considering a moratorium on permitting any new apartments for a five-year period in the city, said Deputy Chief Minister and City Development Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara on Thursday. He promised a meeting of stakeholders soon. The minister’s proposal may have been prompted by water scarcity.
“Apartments are being sold without infrastructure for drinking water, which pushes residents to get their supply through tankers causing several health issues, including skin diseases. This has prompted us to consider a five-year moratorium. After five years, the city would be well served with water resources through several projects being taken up, including Cauvery V Stage and Linganamakki project for which DPR is being prepared,” he said.
The proposal was immediately met with opposition from both industry and urban planners.
Suresh Hari, chairman, CREDAI – Bengaluru, said targeting builders is like treating a symptom as the realty market is only catering to the growing population of the city. “We agree the city needs to work on a war footing to conserve water, for which all stakeholders need to unite. But a moratorium on apartments is not the right solution,” he said.
Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) had in 2017 considered three growth scenarios for the city in the coming decade – containment model, moderate growth and high growth. After widespread public consultation, BDA chose the moderate growth model, which forms the basis of the Draft Revised Master Plan – 2031. While the city is planning for moderate growth, a moratorium on group housing is unsustainable, urban planners argue.
“Bangalore is blessed with high growth when compared to many other metropolitan cities in India. Many global cities would long for this growth, as they are faced with businesses starting to leave, job losses and residents relocating. Moratoriums should be imposed on buildings that are coming up on environmentally sensitive areas, such as valleys, drains and dry lake beds, not a blanket one,” said Rejeet Mathews, Head, Integrated Urban Development, World Resources Institute.
She added that treated piped water supply (Cauvery water) reaches less than 50% of the newly added areas within the BBMP limits as per the 2011 census. “Growth has, however, been rampant, including in environmentally sensitive areas. The need of the hour is to ensure that the natural water infrastructure of the city is protected. Around 85% of the city's valleys have been built upon,” she added.