Is the dream of owning a site developed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) losing its sheen?
Perhaps, for the first time in the history of the authority, 499 of the 5,000 allottees – approximately 10% of buyers – in Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout have surrendered their sites citing inability to make payment within the stipulated time. This could well be a trend as BDA has yet to recover 40% of site revenue two months after the due date.
This debacle comes in the backdrop of BDA not finding many takers for its flats either. Stuck with an unsold inventory of over 2,700 flats, it gave up its tedious allotment procedure and started selling them directly to buyers. But at a realty fair held last weekend, it was able to offload only 150 flats.
The problems are many. For one, BDA layouts are plagued with a host of issues that don’t make them viable housing options or even an investment, argues urban expert Ashwin Mahesh. “The layout development model, to put it bluntly, works on a land arbitrage model acquiring farmers’ lands and selling them at a higher cost to the city’s middle class. Now however, the acquisition costs are high, the law being of the land owner, and this has shot up site prices. The model has run its course,” he said. For instance, a 30x40 site costs ₹23.25 lakh in Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout almost on a par with market rates, which was never the case earlier. Arkavathy Layout has been embroiled in denotification issues, which has led to non-clear titles.
A senior BDA official conceded that the practice of the authority to first allot sites and then work on providing basic infrastructure of water, sanitation, roads and electricity, is proving to be a deterrent. Visveswaraya Layout, formed in 2004, still has less than 20% occupancy rates because of lack of basic infrastructure like water and sanitation. “BDA is working at a deficit of over ₹4,000 crore. We are trying our best to provide infrastructure,” said a BDA official.
The flats, too, seem to be suffering from a different set of problems, but to a lesser degree than the layouts. Built on land provided by the State government following an encroachment removal drive in 2007, location seems to be the biggest hurdle. “These apartments are located in areas with no social infrastructure such as schools, shops, hospitals and even approach roads,” a BDA official said.
That said, experts and BDA officials feel that apartments and not layouts seem to be the only way ahead. V. Ravichandar, member, BBMP Restructuring Committee, said that there is a need to re-imagine the housing function of BDA as a public housing developer and regulator in tune with market demand in the city.
According to a BDA official, the authority has also realised that apartments are a better way forward, as sites have low occupancy rates and were often used for speculation.
