Haris bats for BDA to be restored as LPA for Bengaluru

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Chairman N.A. Haris argued that the BDA should be the sole planning authority for the city, as it was earlier. He was speaking at ‘#THTalksBengaluru’ on Thursday, October 8. 

The BDA was the Local Planning Authority (LPA) for the Bengaluru Metropolitan Area (BMA) of around 1,200 sq. km, including the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike area. However, under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) became the LPA for its area, and the BDA became the LPA for the remaining BMA of around 500 sq. km. 

“Now there will be two master plans and confusion. If a road is leading out of the GBA area, it will come into the BMA, and we need to plan for it. Ideally, I would argue that we need a good master plan for the city region — around a 200 km radius — to plan for the future growth and mobility of Bengaluru. One agency should plan for this region. There can be multiple implementing agencies, but there should be one plan. Even during the formation of the GBA, I told officers the same, but they did not listen to us. I have now apprised Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar of the matter, and he has assured me that he will look into it,” he said.