The untold story
Historically, There have been 2 ways in which a city has been developing.
1- Going by the first method, there is a proper plan in place, town planning, infrastructure provisions, land development rules, segregation of residential & commercial zone from the industrial zones as well as the strategies to bring in the private players to build & manufacture. In this case, infrastructure paves way for development. Gurugram, Chandigarh, Gandhidham & even Navi Mumbai are examples of such cities in India. In fact, by creating a fast transit system, cities across the world have evolved too. This includes the likes of cities such as Dubai & Singapore. No wonder cities like these are considered world-class cities and attract people and lure investors towards them.
2- In auxiliary cases, development comes first followed by infrastructure development. Here, the demand from the masses creates a need for the development of infrastructure. The evolution of Bengaluru -“The Silicon Valley of India”, is a contrast to the development methodology that the other developed cities followed. Micro markets like Electronic City, White Field, Banneghutta Road, Kormangala & Sarjapur have witnessed unprecedented growth with plenteous IT companies and startups setting up their companies in these areas without the basic infrastructure in place, and thus, witnessing traffic congestions. The infra development kicked in much later paving way for road expansions, flyovers, grade separators, outer ring road and now Metro inroads in these areas, giving hope to the citizens. Bengaluru happened to be a city that gathered pace with time. With an increase in the private player’s contribution to the city, the government is now realizing a strong need to upgrade its infrastructure. However, the redevelopment in a crowded city stands as a challenge and thus the Government has been unfurling its footsteps toward the North.
The North Bengaluru Story
With the new International Airport moving to Devanahalli in 2008, the local government made a master plan of development in North Bengaluru. It ensured phenomenal connectivity to the airport through a fibrous road network that subsumes a 10-lane highway and a 6-lane elevated corridor connecting the airport from Hebbal. It also created an alternate approach road to Airport from Hennur and Buddhigere. Learning from the mistakes of the Old Bengaluru, the Government also paved the way for multiple development activities. It created multi-economic zones for Aerospace, Defense, IT, Financial Services and Manufacturing industries by allotting them land and required infrastructure close to the airport supported by multi-model connectivity and smooth transit.
Land availability in abundance and easy accessibility turned out a blessing in disguise. Improved metro connectivity to the airport as well as prime residential areas in North Bengaluru will make way for faster development and easy transit to the citizens of Bengaluru. Sub-urban rail will reinforce the infrastructure development of North Bengaluru, making it more accessible than any other area of Bengaluru. North Bengaluru is leaving no stones untouched to create the required infra and devise a smooth pathway to development. Mass models of Transport like Metro rail and Suburban rail will give a makeover to North Bengaluru supported by a top-notch road network. Owing to the infrastructure developments taking shape in North Bengaluru, a lot of Socio-Economic Developments are also taking place along with Educational and Medical Infrastructure, making North Bengaluru an investment hotspot. People from different parts of the city are preferring North Bengaluru as an investment for their new home. Overall, North Bengaluru is striving to recreate the story of development that cities like Dubai and Singapore have adopted.
By Srinadha Gupta, VP Merusri Developers
