Five satellite towns to decongest Bangalore

In an effort to decongest Bangalore, the Karnataka government has proposed to set up five integrated satellite townships around the city. They will be connected by two ring roads and arterial roads.

While the satellite townships will be developed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) with private participation with a total investment of Rs 30,000 crore, the ring roads will be under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) domain.

Announcing this at a news conference here on Tuesday, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said that the satellite townships are aimed at facilitating industrial growth of the city.

"The satellite townships will be independent and self-contained. They will greatly reduce the pressure on Bangalore as residential projects are part of the townships. The survey work for acquisition of land has already been launched by the BMRDA," he added.

Each satellite township will be spread across 5,000-15,000 acres. They will be located at Nandagudi in Hoskote taluk, Kasaba and Bidadi in Ramanagaram taluk, Solur in Magadi taluk and Sathnur in Kanakapura taluk, forming a ring around Bangalore beyond the Peripheral Ring Road under construction.

"The townships will have independent airstrips and helipads. Wide internal roads, power and water supply, provision for solid waste management, recreation facilities, health and education will be part of the township project," he stated.

Around 85 villages (population of 79,000) coming under the proposed townships will be adopted by the BMRDA for integrated development, the CM said.

The townships will be connected by two ring roads "" Bangalore Metropolitan Region Satellite Townships Ring Road (BMR-STRR) and Bangalore Metropolitan Region Intermediate Ring Road (BMR-IRR).

Asked if the project was conceptualised as a rival to the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), the CM maintained that it was aimed at decongesting the city. "The BMIC is focussing on industrial development of the Bangalore-Mysore stretch whereas the project will remove the additional burden on the city. This project is aimed at meeting the future needs of the city," he added.

The BMR-STRR measures about 283 km and connects the satellite townships with Dobspet, Magadi, Ramanagaram, Kanakapura, Anekal, Attibele, Sarjapura, Hoskote, Devanahalli and Doddaballapur.

The proposed BMR-IRR measures about 178 km and connects the satellite townships to Nelamangala, Tavarakere, Bidadi, Harohalli, Thattakere, Sarjapura, Hoskote, Mallapura and Aradeshanahalli. The radial roads (262 km) connecting Bangalore to these towns will be improved, Kumaraswamy explained.

"The two ring roads will be a high speed corridor with grade separators and interchanges at junctions. The Centre has been urged to include these ring roads and radial roads under the National Highways Development Programme.

The development of these roads is estimated to cost Rs 3,430 crore. The response from the Centre is positive," he added.

When asked about the project?s status if the NHAI had turned down the government?s plea, the CM said: "We are sure the NHAI will take up the road building project. We have prevailed upon the Centre to implement the project as a joint partnership," Kumaraswamy said.