Bengaluru’s Built-up Production: Unpacking the Institutional Apparatus
Anjali Karol Mohan, Gayathri Muraleedharan and Anushri Tiwari*
Densely packed and expansive areas covered by buildings, or ‘built-up area’ as per the technical planning lexicon, is one of the defining characteristics of any urban area; and the bustling Indian Silicon Valley is no exception. But what guides, monitors, or restricts this built growth in Bengaluru? This working paper traces the planning apparatus, inclusive of acts, policies, institutions, and processes, that control the production of Bengaluru’s expansive built-up. In doing so, the paper foregrounds critical gaps and ambiguities in this apparatus and suggests possible ways to plug these. The paper begins by briefly describing the larger planning framework that guides the city’s growth- particularly the Master Plan and the attendant land-use plan. In this comprehension, we also touch upon the various associated acts, institutions, and processes, that contribute to the transformation of ‘land’ in the urban. We believe such an understanding is critical given that this land transformation sets the stage for Bengaluru’s built growth. The paper then proceeds to map the various processes and institutions that enable (and restrict) this built growth, and the ambiguities, overlaps, and issues in these. Finally, the paper recommends potential ways forward that can address the issues identified.
Land transformation in Bengaluru- processes and critical gaps
Master Planning and Change of Land Use
As in any Indian city, the development in Bengaluru is steered by its Master Plan which includes a land-use plan. The Master Plan’s statutory nature is premised on Section 9 of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (KTCP) Act, 1961. The Bangalore Development Authority or BDA is mandated to prepare the Revised Master Plan or RMP for the city. Section 13 D of the KTCP Act, 1961 mandates that the plan is revised every 10 years. However, currently, Bengaluru follows an outdated RMP 2015 which was approved in June 2007 (and is legally valid till the preparation and approval of the next RMP). While a Revised Master Plan, RMP 2031, was prepared in 2017, it has since been de-notified. As a result, the RMP 2015 still steers the built growth, the most critical physical manifestation of urbanisation, in the city. Section 14A of the KTCP Act, 1961 allows a degree of flexibility to change the proposed land use in the RMP through the process of Change of Land Use, or CLU. As per this Section, the Planning Authority (the BDA in the case of Bengaluru) may allow a CLU from the Master Plan with the approval of the State Government in cases of topographical, cartographical or other errors and omissions; failure to fully indicate the details in the plan; changes arising out of the implementation of the proposals in the Master Plan or the circumstances prevailing at any particular time, by the enforcement of the plan, provided that all changes are in the public interest. This provision, while built in with the intention of bringing in the much needed flexibility and dynamism into the Master Plan, is often used to deviate from what is proposed in the RMPs. The CLU process carried out by the BDA is currently an offline process wherein the survey numbers for which the CLU is sought are cross-checked manually on a physical copy of the RMP 2015. If the CLU is sought for eco-sensitive areas, a ‘sensitive clearance committee’ assesses the application, post which the approval or rejection is issued. The various steps in the CLU process and the time taken during each of these are mapped in Figure 1.
Land Conversion
Another provision that needs to be understood along with section 14-A of the KTCP Act is that of Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue (KLR) Act, 1964. This Section allows for land conversion from agricultural to non-agricultural (NA). The owner of agricultural land should apply for permission from the Deputy Commissioner of the district where the land is located. Since the conversion is approved by the Deputy Commissioner or DC, the process is also commonly referred to as the DC conversion. However, the DC cannot permit the conversion of certain lands- like those lying in the drain line, forest land, land in the greenbelt, agricultural zone, etc. This means that the proposed land use for the land parcel (as per the RMP prepared by the Town Planning Department of the BDA) is cross-checked by the Revenue Department (headed by the DC). During this process, if the conversion is in line with the current RMP there is no coordination required between the Revenue Department and the Town Planning department of the BDA. If not in line with the RMP, an opinion is sought from the Town Planning Member (TPM) of BDA before approval is given. For areas outside the BDA, opinions are sought from relevant Planning Authorities (PA). The opinion from the TPM is sent back to the Revenue Department which then gives its approval for the conversion. It was also understood that at times the opinion provided by PA is overruled by the Revenue Department. The Land Conversion process is carried out through Bhoomi portal of the Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka. The request for opinions from the Revenue Department to the BDA is channelled through the Bhoomi application, thus allowing for better coordination between the Revenue Department and the Town Planning Department of the BDA. The steps that are followed for Land Conversion are traced in Figure 2.
For Land Conversion, there are two types of procedures that can be followed depending on the alignment of the conversion with the RMP: a) affidavit-based conversion and, b) master plan-based deemed conversion. The former is followed when the application for land conversion is aligned with the proposed land use in the RMP and if not, a master plan-based deemed conversion process is followed. To quote an example, if a landowner intends to convert his agricultural land parcel to non-agricultural use and specifies ‘residential’ as the intended NA use, an affidavit-based conversion process will be followed if the proposed land use for this parcel of land as per the RMP is also residential. If the proposed land use for this parcel is not residential, then a master plan-based deemed conversion process must be followed. See Figure 3 which maps these two processes. The applicant can choose to follow either the CLU route or Land Conversion route as the first step when developing (construct buildings or carry out any other development) his/her land parcel.
The two processes, namely CLU and Land Conversion sets the stage and provides the leeway for the built growth expansion in the city, especially into the peripheral agricultural areas.
Built growth in Bengaluru- processes and critical gaps
The primary agencies responsible for evaluating, approving, and monitoring the built growth in Bengaluru are the Bruhut Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the BDA depending on the area in which the land parcel is located and area of the building layout. Building plan approvals and issuance of relevant certificates are carried out by the BBMP (for proposed construction within the BBMP boundary) and by the BDA (for all proposed construction in BDA area lying outside the BBMP and for building layouts greater than 5 acres within and outside the BBMP boundary).
An application must be submitted through the BBMP online portal-Online Building Plan Approval System or BPAS (by empanelled architects/ civil engineers on behalf of citizens) with all requisite documents. Within BBMP, sanctions for buildings that are four floors and above are issued by the Joint Director of Town Planning (JDTP) North for BBMP zones of Yelahanka, East, Mahadevapura and Dasarahalli and, by JDTP South for the BBMP zones of South, Bommanahalli, R.R. Nagar and West. Sanctions for proposed buildings that are below four floors are issued by the Assistant Director of the Town planning Department (ADTP) at the respective eight zonal offices. Also, sanctions for residential buildings up to 4,000 sq. ft are carried through the Suvarna Parvanige online portal and are processed within 3 to 10 days. The sub-divisional office handles the sanctioning process for buildings upto 2,400 sq.ft. under the Sakala (which is an offline process).
The various steps involved in the issuance of the Building Sanctions are traced in Figure 4. The BBMP issues relevant certificates at various stages of the building construction. These include the Commencement Certificate issued after completion of the foundation; the Completion Certificate which says that the building has been constructed as per the sanctioned plan; and the Occupancy Certificate (OC) which certifies that a building has been constructed as per the sanctioned plan and meets all the safety and quality standards. An OC is issued only after the various departments like the Fire Service Department, BESCOM, Airport Authority, State Pollution Control Board, etc issue respective No-Objection Certificates or NOCs guaranteeing that the building meets all the safety standards. As per the building plan sanction data uploaded in the BBMP website, there is a huge gap between the sanctioned building plans and the OCs issued. This lack of an OC indicates violation or deviation from what was initially sanctioned and failure in meeting safety standards. In 2015, citing rampant violation of building bylaws, the Urban Development Department (UDD) issued a circular making it mandatory for applicants to produce OCs to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in order to get electricity and water connections respectively. However, the need for submitting an OC to apply for a permanent electricity connection was withdrawn in 2022 due to widespread citizen protest. Similarly, in 2019, the BWSSB relaxed its rules on the compulsory possession of an OC to apply for a new water and sanitation connection. Currently, the BWSSB only requires the submission of an affidavit assuring that the applicant would apply for an OC in the future. In addition, it levies a 50% penalty of the monthly water bill in case of residential buildings and 100% for commercial buildings. These relaxations have led to a considerable number of properties in the city without an OC.
Interactions with officials and experts revealed that building violations are particularly high in the case of buildings with less than four floors. The high land value in the city is one of the critical factors that lead to the production of built fabric that violates building regulations and deviates from approved plans. An assessment of the data on plans sanctioned vs OC issued (as available on the BBMP website), and discussion with officials revealed that the ratio of buildings (less than four floors) that have received OCs to those whose plans have been sanctioned is very low, i.e., most of the buildings in this category do not apply for an OC. The provision of services like water supply and electricity without an OC essentially disincentivises the buildings in the low-rise bracket from applying for one. The only incentive to have an OC is to have a ‘Khata A’ certificate that allows the owner to legally sell or take a mortgage loan. However, the illegal sale of ‘Khatha B’ properties continues across the city. At the same time, the deviation in the low-rise bracket of buildings could also be an indication of the production of affordable built space in the city, although sans the critical safety precautions. This then raises the critical question- what is the relevance of an OC in the current context?
The process followed when the land parcel is located within the BDA boundary (or if building layout is greater than 5 acres within the BBMP boundary) is elaborated in Figure 5. However, this process is offline.
Way forward
What is emerging from the above analyses is that coordination between key departments involved in the land and built growth management in the city, namely, BBMP, BDA, and Land Revenue Department, while present in some of sub-processes, is neither consistent nor streamlined. Critically, Land Conversion (by the Revenue Department), Change of Land use (CLU) (by BDA) and Building Sanctions (by BDA and BBMP) are disconnected and siloed. Interestingly, while Land Conversion (by the Revenue Department) and Building Sanctions (by BBMP) are carried out through separate online portals (Bhoomi and BPAS respectively), CLU and Building Sanctions issued by the BDA continue to be offline processes. What is currently required is a seamless integration of these three through a single online process. Migrating the current offline processes of the BDA (both CLU and Building Sanctions and attendant issuance of relevant certificates) into an online system could be the first step towards such an integration. Such an online system would contain a wealth of data on the past, present, and anticipated built fabric of the city allowing for efficient land planning, management, monitoring & coordination across stakeholder agencies. While platforms like Bhoomi and the BBMP online portal are functioning, integration with other processes is neither challenging nor unfeasible.
Cities are currently in an endless race to ‘smartness’ which is largely sensor and AI/ML driven. The potential of existing ‘small data’ (of which the data on built fabric described in this paper is one amongst the many) in planning, managing, and monitoring the city is largely left unexplored, though critically needed. Digitising, spatialising, and integrating the processes described in this paper is an important place to start for ‘smart’ urban management.
*The authors are urban planners with Integrated Design, Bengaluru.