Cities, Vol. 24, No. 5, p. 379–390, 2007 Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2007.04.003 0264-2751/$ - see front matter www.elsevier.com/locate/cities

City profile H.S. Sudhira Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of , Bangalore 560 012, Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India T.V. Ramachandra * Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India Centre for Ecological , Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India M.H. Bala Subrahmanya Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India

Received 4 December 2006; received in revised form 3 April 2007; accepted 5 April 2007 Available online 4 September 2007

Bangalore is one of the fastest growing cities in India and is branded as ‘ Valley of India’ for her- alding and spearheading the growth of (IT) based industries in the country. With the advent and growth of IT industry, as well as numerous industries in other sectors and the onset of economic liberalisation since the early 1990s, Bangalore has taken lead in service-based industries fuelling substantial growth of the city both economically and spatially. Bangalore has become a cosmo- politan city attracting people and business alike, within and across nations. This profile notes the urban setting and provides an overview of the urban fabric, while discussing various prospects related to infra- structure and governance. This paper also outlines the challenges in planning to ensure better delivery of basic services across the city. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Bangalore, , Garden City

Bangalore . ,2 an area of 741 km2 agglomerating the Bangalore1 is the principal administra- tive, cultural, commercial, industrial, and knowledge capital of the state of 2 The Urban Development Department, has issued gazette notification vide No. UDD/92/ MNY/2006, dated 2.11.2006 for constitut- 1 The name, Bangalore has been proposed ing the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara * for renaming to ‘Bengalooru’ by the State Palike (Greater Bangalore City Corpora- Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-80-2293- government following suit of Bombay to tion) merging the existing area of Bangalore 3099/2506x213; fax: +91-80-2360-1428/0683; , Madras to and Calcutta City Corporation, 8 Urban Local Bodies e-mail: [email protected]..in, cestvr@ to Kolkota. However, we use Bangalore all (ULBs) and 111 Villages of Bangalore ces.iisc.ernet.in, [email protected]. through. Urban District.

379 City profile: H S Sudhira et al.

Figure 1 Map depicts Development Characteristic over Bangalore with the ‘erstwhile’ (pre-2600) City Corporation limits, Greater Bangalore region and Bangalore and noting some of the prominent industrial areas.

Table 1 Bangalore City corporation limits abundant greenery have led to it being basic services are facing stiff chal- over the years called the ’Garden City’ of India. It lenges in catering to this demand. Year Area (sq. km) has also been identified as the coun- Quite recently there have been seri- 1949 69 try’s ‘Silicon Valley’ and it is one of ous attempts by sociologists and urban 1963–1964 112 the technological innovation hubs planners to characterise the city. 1969 134 with a technological achievement in- Heitzman (2004) has analysed the nat- 1979 161 4 1995 226 dex (TAI) of 13 according to the Hu- ure of growth that the city experi- 2007 741 man Development Report (United enced with the emergence of the Nations Development Programme, information society, while bringing 2001). However, with all the hype out the ingredients that led to the about growth in IT and IT based transformation of planning methodol- city, neighbouring municipal councils industries, Bangalore also houses ogies and spatial planning tools for and outgrowths, was ‘notified’ (estab- numerous other leading commercial the city. Nair (2005) has exemplified lished) in December 2006 (Figure 1). and educational institutions, and Bangalore as ‘the promise of the A tiny village in the 12th century, it industries like textiles, aviation, space, ’ while illustrating the ur- grew to become one of the fastest , etc. As an immediate ban fabric of Bangalore over the last growing cities in the world by the consequence of this growth in the last century. In this profile, an attempt is 21st century and to figure among the decade, apart from creating a ripple made to bring out the status of current million-plus cities in India.3 Bangalore effect in the local economy, there has infrastructure and various facets of has grown spatially more than 10 also been great pressure on infrastruc- planning and governance. times since 1949 (Table 1). The city ture and resources like , The next section deals with the enjoys a pleasant and salubrious cli- energy, public transportation, land, origin and history of the city followed mate throughout the year. Its tree- etc. The local body and other parasta- by a description of climate, geography lined , numerous parks and tal agencies responsible for delivery of and environment. The subsequent section considers culture, demography and economics. Lastly, the urban agen- 3 Bangalore is the fifth largest metropolis in 4 Almost on par with , USA, da addressing governance and infra- India currently with a population of about 7 while Silicon Valley, USA is number 1 with structure discussing the stakeholders million. TAI of 16. involved, challenges in managing

380 City profile: H S Sudhira et al. urban infrastructure and issues in plan- to the king. Pleased with her hospi- Later on, the city was administered ning and development are elaborated. tality, the king named the place as by the Wodeyars, rulers of , un- ‘benda kaala ooru’ (town of boiled til it was given as (with rights for beans). But it is interesting to note general administration and collection History and culture that there was already evidence for of taxes) to during late The earliest reference to the name, name of the place much before 18th century. Hyder Ali and later, his in the form ‘Bengalooru’, is seen in Hoysalas. Kamath (1990) notes that son, Tippu Sultan, were responsible a ninth century Ganga inscription Bangalore is said to have got its for growth and development of Banga- (hero-stone) from Begur, referring name from benga, the local lore in a significant way with the con- to a battle that was fought in that language term for Pterocarpus mar- struction of summer palace and place. The present name of the city, supium, a species of dry and moist Lalbagh. Indeed, Bangalore was al- Bangalore is an anglicised form of deciduous tree, and ooru, meaning ready the commercial capital during Bengalooru which according to the town. However, the founding of Tippu’s time and the second important popular belief is derived from Benga- modern Bangalore is attributed to city after , Tippu’s capi- alu – synonymous of Benda kaalu or Kempe Gowda, a scion of the Yelah- tal. During the early 19th century, the boiled beans and ooru meaning a anka line of chiefs, in 1537 (Kamath, city was known to have almost all coins town. Tradition associates Hoysala 1990). Kempe Gowda is also credited in circulation from different places and King Vira Ballala (12th century) with with construction of four towers kingdoms, thus evidencing a flourish- the origin of this name. Vira Ballala, along four directions from Petta, the ing trade and commerce (Buchanan, during one of his hunting expeditions central part of the city, to demarcate 1870). The fall of Bangalore in the Sec- in this region, lost his way and after the extent of city growth (Figure 2). ond Mysore War of 1792, may also hours of wandering reached the hut By the 1960s the city had sprawled have led to the fall of Tippu Sultan in of an old woman. This woman is be- beyond these boundaries (Asian Third Mysore War of 1799, after which lieved to have offered cooked beans Development Bank, 2001). Bangalore became a base for the Brit- ish troops and saw the establishment of the in 1802. British control over Bangalore was initially established indirectly through the Maharaja of Mysore. By 1831, the administration of the city was taken over by the British, and in 1862 two independent municipal boards were established: Bangalore City Municipal- ity (in the older areas), and Bangalore Civil and Military Station Municipal- ity. At Independence, Bangalore was notified as the capital of Mysore (now Karnataka) State. In 1949, the two municipalities were merged and the Bangalore City Corporation was formed. Subsequently, to keep up with the pace of growth and development, there have been reorganizations with respect to the zones and wards within the corporation, rising from 50 divi- sions in 1949 to 95 wards in 1980s, 100 wards in 1995 and now about 150 wards. With the 2006 notification, the Bangalore City Corporation is now reorganized as Greater Bangalore City Corporation (Footnote 2). Bangalore, in spite of the buzz around IT-based and related commer- cial activities, has retained much of its unique cultural ties keeping its date with its history, culture and tradition. The city is known for historical tem- Figure 2 The Kempe Gowda Tower at Lalbagh – one of the four towers Kempe ples such as the Someshwara temple Gowda built to demarcate the extent of city growth in four directions [Photo: in Halasuru (neighbourhood of Ban- H.S. Sudhira]. galore) built during 12–13th century

381 City profile: H S Sudhira et al.

Figure 3 Groundnut Fair – an annual event, colloquially called ‘‘Kadelekai Parishe’’, has helped Bangalore retain its cultural flavour [Photo: N. Akash]. by Cholas, (Bull Tem- part of old city, Basavanagudi (Figure bal, , Challaghatta and ple) built by Kempe Gowda during 3) during November–December. Vrishabhavathi watersheds. The 16th century, Kaadu Malleshwara More recently, an annual cultural fest undulating terrain in the region has temple built during 17th century in called ‘Bengalooru Habba’(‘habba’in facilitated creation of a large number Dravidian architecture, and Gavi Kannada means festival) is held dur- of tanks providing for the traditional Gangadhareshwara temple, all nestle ing the first week of December hosting uses of irrigation, drinking, fishing in the middle of the city. Apart from various cultural programmes like mu- and washing. Their creation is mainly the numerous temples that have sic, dance and drama. The involve- attributed to the vision of Kempe mushroomed around the city, Banga- ment of all sections of people and Gowda and of the Wodeyar dynasty. lore also has one of the six basilicas the unique communal harmony dis- This led to Bangalore having hun- in the country, built during the 17th played by the special prayer at Tawak- dreds of such water bodies through century, St. Marks Cathedral built kal Mastan Darga (mosque) are also the centuries. Even in early second during 1808, the oldest mosque, Sang- remarkable (Chandramouli, 2002). half of 20th century, in 1961, the num- een Jamia Masjid built by the Mog- ber of lakes and tanks in the city stood huls during the 17th century, and the Geography and environment at 262. These, and open spaces gener- popular Jamia Masjid near the City ally, were seriously affected however Market built during the 1940s. The Bangalore is located at 12°590 north with the enhanced demand for real es- ‘Bengalooru Karaga’ is a major annual latitude and 77°570 east longitude, tate and infrastructure consequent to fair associated with the Dharamaraya almost equidistant from both eastern urbanisation. Official figures for the temple, is considered to be the actual and western coast of the South Indian current number of lakes and tanks fair of the erstwhile city, and is still peninsula, and is situated at an alti- vary from 117 to 81,5 but recent satel- persistent in the older central parts tude of 920 m above mean sea level. lite imagery (dated 2003) gives a dif- of the city. Karaga, a five-day festival The mean annual total rainfall is ferent picture altogether, showing of Tigalas, a community who migrated about 880 mm with about 60 rainy only 33 lakes visible,6 out of which from , has many unique days a year over the last 10 years. only about 18 are clearly delineated features such as intense religious The summer temperature ranges from fervour, strict rituals, unchanged tradi- 18 °Cto38°C, while the winter tem- tions over centuries, a fixed route and perature ranges from 12 °Cto25°C. 5 IDIP Report, prepared by STEM for Thus, Bangalore enjoys a salubrious KUIDFC, pp. 2, Chapter 8. stops for the procession, welcome and 6 respect shown at all the temples on climate all round the year. Sudhira, 2006. Bangalore Lakes, Wayfar- ing Map. Available Online: http://www. route. The annual groundnut fair, Bangalore is located over ridges wayfaring.com/maps/show/19613 Last ‘Kadalekai Parishe’ takes place in a delineating four watersheds, viz. Heb- Accessed: 14th Nov. 2006, 13:00 GMT.

382 City profile: H S Sudhira et al.

Figure 4 Bangalore, once boasted of 81 lakes in the city limits, while now about 33 show some signs of existence. High-rise buildings sprouting across lake [Photo: H.S. Sudhira]. while another 15 show only faint signs of 40 km from city centre (Karthike- Demography and economy of their former existence. With the yan, 1999), about 40 species of mam- The state of Karnataka was carved out city’s unprecedented growth, the large mals, more than 340 species of birds, in 1956 based on linguistic boundaries, number of public open spaces dimin- 38 species of reptiles, 16 species of with regions dominated by Kannada ished over the years. Much of the loss amphibians, 41 species of fishes and speaking people. Bangalore was re- in green cover is due to the rapid 160 species of butterflies have been tained as the capital of the state, with change in land use. As the city grew recorded. A new ‘ant’ species, Dilo- Kannada as the official language while over space and time, inner areas got bocondyla bangalorica, was discovered accommodating other languages like more crowded and congested. Initia- in Bangalore recently (Varghese, Tamil, Telugu, , English tives to ease congestion on net- 2006). In another study, Sudha and and , true to its cosmopolitan works have led to axing numerous Ravidranath (2000) have investigated status. The census of population in road-side trees. Many lakes have been the floral assemblage in different Bangalore has been recorded every converted into residential layouts, bus land-use categories and the changes decade since 1871, during the colonial stands, play grounds and stadiums, etc. in vegetation over Bangalore City. times, the most recent census being (Figure 4). The built-up area in the 164 species were identified in different carried out in 2001. Figure 5 shows metropolitan area was 16% of total residential areas, of which 149 were re- the growth of population in Bangalore in 2000 and is currently estimated to corded within compounds and 87 were from 1871 to 2001 (5.7 million), along be around 23–24%. The rest of the avenue trees. The rich diversity speaks with an estimate for 2007 (7 million). area is occupied by either agriculture for the volume of life still persisting in It is notable that since the first census, lands, quarries or other vacant land. spite of rapid urban growth. Bangalore was already the most popu- In the aspect of nurturing flora and In recent times, the increase in lous city in Karnataka. This urban pri- fauna, the situation in Bangalore is vehicular traffic (see Section ‘‘Urban macy has been retained consistently quite complex. With prominent green Agenda addressing Infrastructure’’) for more than a century now. After spaces like Lalbagh and has increased suspended particulate Independence, Bangalore, now a State almost at the city centre and a few matter and other oxides of carbon, capital, saw an influx of population water bodies, such as , Sankey, nitrogen and sulphur in the environ- migrating to the city, although it Lalbagh, Yediyur and , scat- ment. Air pollution and the reduction should be noted that the steep popula- tered across city’s landscape, the in tree cover have induced the urban tion rise in the decade 1941–1951, remaining green spaces in the periph- heat island effect resulting in varia- while due in part to this migration, ery harbour a great number of species. tions in local temperature and sudden also reflects the amalgamation of Ban- In a compilation of fauna present in unanticipated showers during late galore Civil and Military Station and around Bangalore within a radius afternoon.

383 City profile: H S Sudhira et al.

8,000,000

7000000 7,000,000

6,000,000 5686844

5,000,000

4130288 4,000,000

Population 2921751 3,000,000

2,000,000 1664208

1206961

1,000,000 786343 309785 410967 144479 155857 180366 163091 189485 240054

1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2007* Year

Figure 5 Population Growth of Bangalore City 1871 – 2007* (*The population for 2007 is an estimate). Source: (2001b).

Municipality with the then Bangalore in the country and a personal dispos- from the establishment of premier City Corporation. Population growth able income greater than the Indian centres like Indian Institute of during the 1970s could be ascribed to city average. This has also resulted Science (IISc), National Institute of numerous public sector industries in a trickle down effect within the ur- Advanced Studies (NIAS), Tata and other defence establishments that ban economy. Further, investments in Institute for Fundamental Research came up during the period and fuelled industries (not only IT), infrastruc- (TIFR), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre significant immigration. By this time, ture and other services, have signifi- for Advanced Scientific Research incidentally, Bangalore had lost its cantly increased purchasing power (JNCASR), Indian Space Research tag of ‘Pensioners Paradise’, gained among the people and have nurtured Organisation (ISRO), National Aero- before Independence. Although the real estate with consequent land space Laboratories (NAL), Defence advent of IT is attributed to the late market dynamics, apart from creating Research and Development Organi- 1980s, major growth and expansion numerous secondary employment in sation (DRDO), Indian Institute of of this industry happened only during services. Interestingly enough, of the Management (IIM), Institute for So- the late 1990s. Still, population growth 5.7 million population in the urban cial and Economic Change (ISEC), in Bangalore in the last census decade, agglomeration in 2001, about 2 mil- Indian Institute of Information Tech- 1991–2001 (38%), was substantially lion were migrants (Census of India, nology (IIIT) and several profes- less than in 1971–1981 (76%). Never- 2001b). About 1.2 million of these sional engineering and medical theless, the physical growth of the city were from Karnataka state, mainly colleges at undergraduate and gradu- has been phenomenal over the last from the rural parts, while the ate levels. In tune with recent trends, few years, and the glaring evidence remaining 0.8 million were from out- Bangalore now has numerous malls of this is increased travel-times and side the state, the majority of these and multiplexes that are swarmed the escalating real-estate prices. from urban areas. It is further noted during weekends. With an active According to the latest census that people have migrated chiefly night life and Bangaloreans penchant (Census of India, 2001a), the urban for employment or moved with for fast-food, a large number of res- agglomeration had an overall popula- household or for education. The large taurants, and ‘eat-outs’ throng tion in 2001 of 5.7 million, including a number of migrant population from the city. workforce of 2.2 million, within an other parts of India explains the mul- The economic fabric of the city, area of 560 km2, and a literacy rate titude of languages spoken and although at times masked by the of 75.1%. The hype over the IT understood in Bangalore. IT-based industries is varied, being industry is underlain by Bangalore Bangalore is home to numerous also characterised by textile, automo- having about 30% of all IT workforce high-tech knowledge hubs evident bile, machine tool, aviation, space,

384 City profile: H S Sudhira et al.

Figure 6 The plight of urban poor in Jayanagar 9th Block [Photo: BMP]. defence, and biotechnology based part of its sprawl. Notable among capita income of Rs. 39,420, a little industries. In addition, numerous ser- these are the Industrial Es- more than twice the State’s average vices, trade and banking activities tate just mentioned, per capita income of Rs. 18,360 mark the city’s economic landscape. and Whitefield (Figure 1). The prolif- (Government of Karnataka, 2005). An important feature of the eco- eration of SMEs in residential and Despite higher per capita income nomic activities of Bangalore is the commercial areas, in addition to the within the urban district than in the rest huge concentration of Small and industrial areas, has added to the of the State, and with significant mi- Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in chaos and congestion in the city. grant population, the number of urban diversified sectors across the city. Thus, the thriving economy of the poor has been on the rise and the Bangalore has more than 20 indus- city has resulted with a net district7 settlements in the city have not been trial estates/areas comprising large, income of Rs. 262,592 million (ap- contained. The escalating costs of land medium and small enterprises. Of prox. US $ 5.8 billion) and a per prices coupled with rise in cost of living these, Peenya Industrial Estate lo- has pushed the urban poor to reside in cated in the northern part of the city squatter settlements with inadequate comprises about 4000 SMEs and is 7 In the Indian federal system, each state is amenities and services (Figure 6). considered the largest industrial es- divided into districts (which are further Some of these settlements have speck- tate in South and South East Asia divided into taluks) for administrative pur- led the city’s landscape garnering (PIA, 2003). A majority of the SMEs poses, including decentralised implementa- immediate action from civic authori- tion of developmental programmes. The function as ancillaries/subcontractors State of Karnataka has 27 districts, of ties. According to Bangalore Mahan- to large enterprises in the field of which Bangalore Urban is one, comprising agara Palike (2006), the number of engineering and electronics indus- Bangalore East, Bangalore South and Ane- households in the urban agglomeration tries, among others. The industrial kal Taluks. Taluk boundaries dissect the defined as poor was 0.22 million, hous- city and extend beyond the Bangalore estates sprung up mostly in the Metropolitan Area. Thus the ‘net district ing approximately 1.1 million people periphery of the erstwhile city and income’ refers to the entire district and not out of 5.7 million population (Table gradually as the city grew became to the city alone. 2). Noting the importance of the

385 City profile: H S Sudhira et al. Table 2 Distribution of across Greater Bangalore (BMP, 2006) The spectrum of their activities ranges Agency/authority No. of slums No. of households Remarks from literacy and green brigades to ur- Karnataka Slum 218 106,266 Declared ban governance, ensuring continuous Clearance Board interactions with the local administra- (KSCB) tion. Notable spheres of activity of Greater Bangalore 324 110,991 310 undeclared these non-governmental organisations City Corporation and 14 declared Grand total 542 217,257 (NGOs) include: improving urban governance by Citizens Voluntary Ini- Note. Estimates are based on 2001 Census. tiative for the City (CIVIC) and Jan- aagraha; improving living conditions in slums by AWAS, APSA, Paraspara, etc.; addressing child literacy by Prer- ana and the India Literacy Project; matter, the State Government has set Town Municipal Council) and 111 taking on environmental issues by up a special agency, Karnataka Slum outlying villages. Independently of 8 9 the Environment Support Group, Ha- Clearance Board (KSCB) specifically the Corporation, which is governed siru Usiru, etc. Apart from the NGOs, to address the redevelopment of slums by locally elected representatives, par- there are numerous resident welfare in partnership with various stakehold- astatal bodies controlled by the State associations, trade and commercial ers like the Housing Board, Local government are responsible for many organisations, and professional organ- Bodies, Water Supply Boards, etc. essential services (see Table 3). isations that have played a major role The initiatives taken up by the local Planning in the form of land use in some of the important activities of body addressing redevelopment of zoning and regulation are vested with local bodies and influencing their deci- slums are are noted below in the sub- Bangalore Development Authority sion-making. Civil society has contrib- section on Issues in Planning and (BDA), a parastatal agency, in spite uted considerably in shaping the Development. of the 74th Constitutional Amend- policies and governance structures ment Act, passed by the national par- and has always intervened whenever liament in 1993. This Act requires that there has been any apathy on the part Urban agenda: governance and the planning function be vested with of the administration towards activi- infrastructure the (elected) urban local body and ties of interest to society at large. An not with any parastatal agency. But, An important aspect of a city is how experiment to promote public private in the case of Bangalore, the Corpora- well it is planned, managed and partnership and bring together citi- tion have not been granted adequate zens, NGOs, industry representatives administered, activities which form powers by the State to plan, decide the core part of an urban agenda – and the erstwhile local bodies resulted and administer their city! Further- governance. However, appropriate in ‘‘Bangalore Agenda Task Force more, the State has created numerous (BATF)’’. This experiment was about state mechanisms through organisa- other organisations of its own to man- tional structures, procedures and poli- to be benchmarked as one of the ‘best age various services such as water cies are needed to enable these. Also, practices’ in urban local governance, supply, law and order, energy, etc. when it faced strong criticisms from apart from the formal administrative The result is the existence of many structures, the presence and involve- several civil society groups for setting parastatal organisations, each acting aside priorities favouring the urban ment of civil society significantly drive in its own geographic area, leading to the urban agenda. poor and was accused of making a complication and confusion in coordi- back door entry towards policy mak- nating different activities. Apart from Organisations and stakeholders ing (Ghosh, 2005). In the event, the the issue of a common geographical activities of BATF came to a standstill Greater Bangalore City Corporation unit and the lack of coordinated ef- with the change of guard at the State (Bruhat Bengalooru Mahanagara Pa- fort, even basic information related government two years ago and it is like) is now the key ‘urban local body’ to different sectors is extremely diffi- currently dormant. Another instance (ULB), that is, the local governmental cult to collect, collate and to correlate. of strong action by civil society structure representing and responsible For effective planning it is imperative groups, was seen when the local gov- to the citizens for the city and outlying that all the basic information be gath- ernment started tree felling and prun- areas. Notified in December 2006, the ered across a common geographical ing for road widening. Members of the new Corporation replaced the erst- unit with the effect of creating a ro- green brigade, Hasiru Usiru, staged while local bodies, Bangalore City bust city information system. protests, held an all night vigil, Corporation (Bangalore Mahanagara In addition to the official bodies, ci- stormed the Commissioner’s office Palike), 8 neighbouring councils (7 vil society of Bangalore is known for and also moved to High Court and fi- City Municipal Councils and one its vibrant community participation. nally got the actions stayed. The High Court also ruled later that Hasiru 8 Karnataka Slum Clearance Board is 9 ‘Corporation’ refers to the recently noti- Usiru members should inspect the responsible for slum improvement, clear- fied Greater Bangalore City Corporation trees along with the designated Tree ance and rehabilitation of the slum dwellers. unless otherwise stated. Officer from the Forest Department

386 City profile: H S Sudhira et al.

Table 3 Organisations concerned with Bangalore Organisations Functional areas (scope of work) Greater Bangalore City Corporation [Bruhat Bangalore Urban local body responsible for overall delivery of services – Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)] and road maintenance including asphalting, pavements and lighting; solid management, education and health in all wards, storm water drains, construction of few Ring roads, flyovers and grade separators Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Land use zoning, planning and regulation within Bangalore Metropolitan Area; Construction of few Ring roads, flyovers and grade separators Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Planning, co-ordinating and supervising the proper and orderly Authority (BMRDA) development of the areas within the Bangalore Metropolitan Region, which comprises and parts of . BDA’s boundary is a subset of BMRDA’s boundary Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Drinking water – pumping and distribution, sewerage collection, water and waste water treatment and disposal Enforcement of overall law and order; Traffic Police: Manning of traffic islands; Enforcement of traffic laws; Regulation on Right of Ways (One-ways) Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) Public transport system – bus-based Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRC) Public transport system – rail-based (Proposed) Regional Transport Office (RTO) Motor vehicle tax; Issue of licenses to vehicles Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) Responsible for power distribution Lake Development Authority (LDA) Regeneration and conservation of urban district

before any tree felling and pruning of for private participation. Economic based on the city’s four natural river branches was begun. infrastructure encompasses water sup- valleys already noted and BWSSB is ply, wastewater treatment, storm the nodal agency. There are three ma- water drainage system, solid waste jor treatment plants with a total capac- Challenges in managing urban management, telecommunication net- ity of about 450 MLD (the outlets of infrastructure work, and transportation network. Koramangala and Challaghatta val- Urban activities require the support of Bangalore Water Supply and Sew- leys are combined to form the K&C infrastructure. Broadly, urban infra- erage Board (BWSSB) is the parasta- Valley Treatment Plant at Bellandur). structure can be divided into social tal agency responsible for drinking Wastewater stress on natural water and economic infrastructure. Social water supply, and wastewater collec- bodies is evident from the fact that infrastructure encompasses facilities tion and treatment in the city. Banga- the present wastewater treatment like health care, education, housing, lore is on a ridge and does not have its capacity in the city is around 450 commercial (shops, markets and ho- own year-round sources of water. MLD as against an estimated genera- tels), sports, recreation and entertain- Drinking water is pumped from the tion of domestic wastewater of 700 ment. With mixed land use being river Cauvery, a distance of about MLD. Although more secondary practiced in most parts of Bangalore, 100 km over an elevation of 500 m wastewater treatment plants are in shops and markets are the most com- with an energy expenditure of progress, they are yet to be completed. monly found amenities (approxi- 75 MW for approximately 900 million Another problem is the frequent clog- mately 1 shop per 100 persons) in litres per day (MLD). Apart from ging of storm water drains, resulting in the urban agglomeration10 (Karnataka the river Cauvery supply, ground pollution of natural water bodies. Urban Infrastructure Development water and water from the river Hence it is now proposed to rehabili- and Finance Corporation, 2006). The Arkavathy are also tapped. However, tate and remodel all the major trunk provision and maintenance of primary while water supply distribution is sewers to prevent any discharge into health care, elementary education, 100% in the former Bangalore City the storm water drains. sports, recreation, and entertainment Corporation limits, only about 20% Addressing mobility in Bangalore are administered mostly by the Corpo- of the Municipal Council households city, an overview of transportation ration, while BDA also facilitates are serviced. In view of the rapid and traffic reveals the following facts. some of the social infrastructure like growth of the city, and recent notifica- Bangalore city is estimated to have shopping complexes, with provisions tion of Greater Bangalore, it remains vehicle population of about 2.6 million a challenge to service the remaining while the current city population is areas. about 7 million. The vehicle to person 10 The urban agglomeration refers to the area formally administered by Bangalore Regarding collection and treatment ratio is far higher than any other city City Corporation and the 8 councils. of wastewater, the sewerage system is in India. This has led to increased con-

387 City profile: H S Sudhira et al. gestion in road networks across the and medium traffic intensity corridors city corporation area of 226 km2. The city and frequent traffic jams. Man- requiring various interventions by dif- second zone would include the areas ning signalling at traffic islands have ferent organisations, the former City of the former 8 neighbouring munici- also become unmanageable with the Corporation proposed only to widen pal councils and 111 villages, which to- amount of traffic plying across junc- some of these roads. A key aspect ig- gether form the peri-urban areas and tions. Again, in this sector different nored while addressing mobility is are now incorporated into the Greater components related to mobility are the role of land use in generating traf- Bangalore City Corporation. The vested with different parastatal fic demand. Failure by the city to third zone would include other vil- bodies. acknowledge this, and in particular lages extending up to the Bangalore Public transportation forms one of the implications of changes in land Metropolitan Area limits as proposed the key functionalities for mobility in use from residential to commercial or by Bangalore Development Author- any . In Bangalore where industrial, has led to stereotypical ap- ity. The development characteristics the working population is around 2 proaches in addressing mobility such and agencies across these zones are million, the Bangalore Metropolitan as road widening, creation of new fly- summarised in Table 4 and depicted Transport Corporation (BMTC) oper- overs and underpasses, or conversion in Figure 1. ates on any given day with 4144 sched- into ‘one-ways’. In general Bangalore Traditionally, planning has been re- ules, 4262 buses, 60,475 trips, and has over a period promoted mixed stricted to land use planning, being carries 3.5 million passengers. It earns land use which at some level has led vested with BDA for the region under Rs. 20.5 million per day and pay Rs. to inefficient usage of land. With the Bangalore urban agglomeration, and 0.955 million to the government as City’s compartmentalised approaches with Bangalore Metropolitan Region taxes (Bangalore Metropolitan Trans- to widening of roads or construction Development Authority (BMRDA) port Corporation, 2006). Further, of flyovers and grade separators, the for the larger peripheral area compris- according to recent estimates, there problem of mobility is far from being ing the rest of Bangalore Urban are about 1.6 million two-wheelers, solved. District7. BDA obtains the land, 0.32 million motor-cars, 80,000 auto- develops it as residential layouts rickshaws, and 0.17 million other vehi- Issues in planning and which eventually are handed over to cles totalling to around 2.2 million development the city corporation, often involving vehicles on road (Regional Transport To understand the development char- the extension of city limits. Land use Office, 2006). acteristics of the Bangalore metropol- plans are formalised through the The onus of maintaining and itan area, it may help to distinguish Comprehensive Development Plans improving road networks lies with three concentric zones – zones which (CDP) prepared every 10 years. the Corporation. Although a study correspond closely with previous cur- Accordingly, the last CDP, prepared for the City by consultants iDeCK rent local authority areas. The first in 1995 for the period up to 2011, and Rites (2005) identified 52 high zone would comprise the erstwhile was revised in 2005–2006 for the peri-

Table 4 Development characteristics across Bangalore Characteristics Development zones Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Authority Greater Bangalore City Greater Bangalore City Development Corporation (formerly Corporation (formerly 8 Authorities and other Bangalore City municipal councils and Town and Village Corporation) 111 villages) Municipal Councils Urban status Outgrowth Potential areas for future outgrowth Infrastructure services Present, but nearly Not fully present, with Farmlands and scattered choked, needs new growth, requires settlements with minimal augmenting of existing planning and no infrastructure infrastructure augmentation of infrastructure Impact of growth No scope for new growth High potential for Mostly rural, with but calls for urban growth since already minimal growth renewal to ease peri-urban area and currently, but potential congestion, etc emergence of new for future growth residential layouts and other developments Planning, Development Corporation operates Corporation operates Planning vested with and Regulation Controls building controls. minimal building parastatal agencies: Planning vested with controls. Planning vested BDA and BMRDA and BDA. with BDA. not other local bodies. No regulation on building/construction

388 City profile: H S Sudhira et al. od up to 2015 and is currently awaiting JNNURM is made operational with promise, and in improving the essen- approval. A key aspect of these CDPs two sub-missions: tial urban infrastructure and services are that they indicate the amount and in city. Urban Infrastructure and Gover- location of land use allocated for var- nance (UIG). ious uses (like residential, commercial, Basic Services to Urban Poor industrial, etc.) as well as restricting Conclusion (BSUP). development in specific areas demar- Bangalore, with all due respect to its cated as Green Belt and Valley Zones. The sub-mission on UIG focuses on status as ‘Silicon Valley’ and ‘Garden However, another organisation similar major infrastructure projects for water City’, faces real challenges in terms to BDA, the Karnataka Industrial supply, , sewerage, solid of addressing and delivery of basic Area Development Board (KIADB), waste management, road network, ur- infrastructure and services to all its is responsible for development of ban transport and redevelopment of stakeholders. In spite of numerous ini- industrial areas. These industrial es- inner (old) city areas with a view to tiatives and activities envisaged by the tates are situated for the most part in upgrading infrastructure therein, shift- urban local bodies, past and present, the outskirts of the city and KIADB ing industrial and commercial estab- and by parastatal bodies, the rational- has powers under the law to take over lishments to conforming areas, etc. isation of geographical units for these agricultural lands for the purpose. The sub-mission on BSUP focuses on activities could mark the beginning Generally, however, the regulation integrated redevelopment of slums of a coordinated effort in addressing and enforcement of land use zoning combining housing, water supply, the needs of the city. In the wake of regulations are dismal, leading to a drainage, storm water drains, solid recent notification of Greater Banga- large number of illegal developments waste management, street lighting, lore City Corporation and initiatives and encroachments on public land – and community halls. under JNNURM, Bangalore is cur- problems which have led Karnataka In accordance with the JNNURM rently experiencing a strange transfor- State to constitute a legislative com- guidelines, the erstwhile Bangalore mation. Bangalore also stands out as a mittee to look into irregularities in City Corporation prepared the City beacon of globalising world and to and around the city. In the particular Development Strategy Plan (CDSP) sustain this, it needs to systematically case of growth occurring around outer for both UIG and BSUP (Bangalore address the key challenges facing the industrial areas, the urban local bodies Mahanagara Palike, 2006). The city in terms of governance and are generally unable to provide basic CDSP outlines only an investment infrastructure. infrastructure and services, thus fur- plan and financial strategy for taking ther aggravating inefficient utilisation up various initiatives envisaged in the of land and other natural resources. mission. Under BSUP, 218 declared With such instances prevailing espe- slums in the former City Corporation Acknowledgements cially in the areas of the former Muni- limits would be taken up by KSCB cipal Councils, the new Corporation for redevelopment. Further, there We thank the Indian Institute of faces a great challenge to deliver basic are 169 slums under the erstwhile Science for financial and infra- infrastructure and services. City Corporation jurisdiction that re- structure support. We are grateful On 3rd December 2005, the Ministry main undeclared, which would be to the editor for useful sugges- of Urban Development, Government redeveloped by the new Corporation. tions, which have enhanced both of India, launched the Jawaharlal Neh- There are, in addition, 155 slums in presentation and quality of the ru National Urban Renewal Mission the neighbouring former municipal content. (JNNURM). This countrywide pro- council areas that would be redevel- gramme addresses renewal of urban oped by the new Corporation and areas for 63 cities encompassing nearly KSCB. However a draft community References 70% of total urban population, its pri- participation law has not been en- Asian Development Bank (2001) Cities mary aim being to link the revitalisa- acted and in Karnataka State most Data Book: Urban Indicators for Man- tion of urban infrastructure with a of the infrastructure projects and aging Cities, in: Westfall, MS and de specific agenda of institutional re- redevelopment plans have been Villa, VA (Eds.), Asian Development Bank, , Philippines. forms. Bangalore is one of the benefi- administered by ULBs and parastatal Bangalore Mahanagara Palike-BMP (2006) ciaries under this programme with an agencies and not through community City Development Strategy Plan, estimated outlay of US $ 1.7 billion participation as envisioned by the Report submitted to Ministry of Urban over the next six years. The key mis- mission. The result is a continuation Development, , sion of this programme is to support re- of top-down rather than bottom-up New . Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corpo- forms-driven, fast track, planned modes of planning and delivering ration (2006) At present, Statistics development with focus on improving infrastructure and services. This calls available online: http://www.bmtcinfo. efficiency in urban infrastructure and for introspection on the implementa- com/english/atpresent.htm (accessed service delivery mechanisms, through tion and achievement of the mission 20.11.2006). Buchanan, F (1870) A journey from Madras community participation and ensuring objectives. However, with various ini- through the countries of Mysore, Canara accountability of urban local bodies tiatives under JNNURM underway, and Malabar, Second ed., vols. 1–3. and parastatals towards citizens. it does offer hope, and perhaps Higginbotham and Co., Madras.

389 City profile: H S Sudhira et al.

Census of India (2001a) Primary Census of Economics and Statistics, Govern- Nair, J (2005) Bangalore: The Promise of a Abstract – , Karnataka ment of Karnataka. Metropolis. Oxford. and Lakshwadweep, Directorate of Heitzman, J (2004) Planning for an Infor- PIA (2003) PIA Technical Directory. Pee- Census Operations, Government of mation Society: Bangalore City. Oxford. nya Industries Association, Bangalore. India, . iDeCK and Rites (2005) Rapid Traffic Regional Transport Office (2006) Vehicle Census of India (2001b) Migration Data Study: Identification of traffic corridors strength and growth in Bangalore. for Urban Agglomerations in Karna- in Bangalore, Infrastructure Develop- Regional Transport Office, Transport taka – D-series, Directorate of Census ment Corporation (Karnataka) Limited Department, Government of Karna- Operations, Government of India, New and Rites, Bangalore. taka. http://rto.kar.nic.in/bng-veh-stat. Delhi. Kamath, S (1990) Places of Interest, Kar- htm (accessed 19.03.2007). Chandramouli, K (2002) A grand dream, nataka State Gazetteer: Bangalore Dis- Sudha, P and Ravidranath, N H (2000) A , 18 July, 2002, The Hindu trict. Government of Karnataka, study of Bangalore urban forest. Group. http://www.hinduonnet.com/mp/ Bangalore (Chapter 19). Landscape and Urban Planning 47, 2002/07/18/stories/2002071800480200.htm Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Develop- 47–63. (accessed 20.11.2006). ment and Finance Corporation (2006) Development Programme Ghosh, A (2005) Public–Private or private Infrastructure Development and Invest- (2001) Development Report – public?: Promised Partnership of the ment Plan for Bangalore: 2006–30, 2001, Making New Technologies Work Bangalore Agenda Task Force. Eco- Final Report, Karnataka Urban Infra- for Human Development, UNDP. New nomic and Political Weekly Special structure Development and Finance York and , New Articles, 19 November 2005. http:// Corporation, Bangalore. York. www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root= Karthikeyan, S (1999) The Fauna of Ban- Varghese, T (2006) A new species of the 2005&leaf=11&filename=9367&filetype= galore – the Vertebrates and Butterflies ant genus Dilobocondyla (Hymenop- html (accessed 29.03.2007). of Bangalore: A checklist, World Wide tera: Formicidae) from India, with Government of Karnataka (2005) Karna- Fund for Nature – India. Karnataka notes on nesting behaviour. Oriental taka at a glance – 2004–05. Directorate State Office, Bangalore. Insects 40, 23–32.

390