Its flat was not sold, BDA land was developed looking for private stakeholders

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) is considering tying up with private real estate companies to build apartment complexes on its land. The planning agency is working on this idea as it has not been able to sell around 3,000 flats built in different parts of Bengaluru. It is believed that the reason for poor response is BDA’s poor history and poor work. Reliable sources in DH said the concept of forming a joint venture with real estate promoters was discussed in a meeting held in late November and chaired by Principal DK Shivakumar, the deputy minister who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio. He is confident of the proposal as hundreds of BDA flats built at a cost of over Rs 1,000 crore remained unsold for years. Since the BDA has large expanses of vacant land across Bengaluru, officials believe that partnering with private promoters to build affordable apartments is better in many ways as the BDA will not have to invest in the project. In return, you can receive a certain amount of income or sellable floors. A senior BDA official confirmed to DH that they had discussed such a proposal recently, but added that there were not many meetings after that. “Despite offering apartments at very low prices we have not been able to sell them. Although we provide more services at reasonable prices, we are getting a policy because we cannot market them properly”, said the official. Residents who have purchased BDA flats have mixed opinions about the quality of work. Sumanth R, who bought a one-room apartment in Valagerahalli for Rs 20 lakh, said he is happy with the house and has no problems. However, a BDA apartment owner in Kanmanike is distressed as the agency has not built an access road to the apartment building nor provided the promised facilities. Promoters agree with the idea of forming joint ventures, as these types of agreements are successful with owners. “In fact, depending on the location of the land, an owner is left with 28% to 50% of the salable floor space. A prominent builder warned of the possibility of independent demands from the BDA beyond the scope of the agreements, saying, “We can reach similar agreements or models of revenue distribution with the BDA”.