The State government on Tuesday claimed before the Karnataka High Court that the Development Plan, draft of which is to be prepared by the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC), is different from the Master Plan, which is being prepared by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).
Additional Advocate General A.S. Ponnanna made this submission during the hearing of a PIL petition, which was filed in 2014 questioning the authority of the State to prepare the master plan through the BDA for the Bengaluru metropolitan area under the provision of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act after the formation of the Bengaluru MPC.
It was pointed out to the court that the task of preparation of the Master Plan is different and distinct from Development Plan, as preparation of Master Plan is a job requiring the involvement of subject experts.
Mr. Ponanna urged the court to vacate the interim order, in which the high court had restrained the State from approving the Revised Master Plan-2031 without prior permission of the court.
However, a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice H.G. Ramesh and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar, which is hearing the petition, said that it would adjudicate the petition while adjourning further hearing till Wednesday.
Earlier, counsel for the petitioners, Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Citizens Action Forum, claimed that the MPC was constituted as per Article 243ZE for the specific purpose of preparing Development Plan of the notified metropolitan area, and this specific duty, which is assigned to the MPC by the Constitution, cannot be continued to be undertaken by an agency under the the State as per Section 9 of the KTCP Act. It was pointed out by the petitioner’s counsel that Section 9(4) of the KTCP Act became invalid when the MPC came into existence.
