BDA plot allotment rules will be reworked: KJ George

BENGALURU: City Development Minister KJ George on Sunday said he will have Bangalore Development Authority ( BDA) embrace technology , computerise all its records and step up transparency in its affairs.

He told ET that he has held a meeting with BDA officials and had himself briefed about the way the organisation is going about in the allotment process with regard to its proposed Kempe Gowda Layout off Magadi Road.

The minister said the present BDA rules required to be reworked to provide for greater relief to citizens by way of reduction or waiver of registration fee while applying for plots and increasing the transparency levels.

The BDA has invited applications for 5,000 plots at its proposed Kempe Gowda Layout and will re ceive applications up to December 31.

The announcement has kicked up a lot of excitement among Bengalureans as this is a housing layout the organisation is forming after a long gap of 11 years.

ET had reported on 14 December about the objections raised by BJP MLAs S Suresh Kumar and LA Ravi Subramanya about the way the BDA was going about the exercise.

The MLAs had raised their fears that the organisation might turn the allotment into a messy affair in a letter to George.

They alleged that the BDA was conducting itself more like a private real estate company than an organisation created to provide housing to citizens. They had highlighted the lack of online application option, exorbitant registration fee and refusal to pay interest on the huge initial deposits collected.

The BDA, George said, will provide for online registration and application for plots in future.

The minister said he plans to visit the Kempe Gowda Layout to see the progress being made in its formation ahead of the allotment process.

The BDA, he added, will announce the list of allottees before three months and start the process of refunding initial deposits to unsuccessful applicants. If the BDA delays the refund process and retains the deposit beyond three months, then it will pay the interest, the minister said.

George said BDA itself was looking into objections related to plot allotments earlier but hereafter an outside committee of officials headed by the Additional Chief Secretary , Urban Development, will go through the objections. The list of allottees will be published on the BDA website to step up transparency , he added. MLA Suresh Kumar, in a social media post, thanked George for the initiative.