Bengaluru: Announcing the target to make Karnataka a $1 trillion economy by 2047, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said the government planned to develop nine integrated industrial townships in the Benga…

Bengaluru: Announcing the target to make Karnataka a $1 trillion economy by 2047, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said the government planned to develop nine integrated industrial townships in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (BMR) as part of a comprehensive plan. Speaking at a meeting of the advisory committee on the BMR’s economic development, he said the plan would focus on improving connectivity, housing, water supply and industrial development. Bengaluru: Man arrested for sexually assaulting minor deaf daughter”Nine new industrial townships need to be established within the BMR. Around 7,900 acres of land has already been acquired while the acquisition of another 5,600 acres is underway. Our government has already announced plans to establish an AI City, modelled after Singapore’s Punggol (Digital District). Land is also required for establishing an AI university. The process of identifying suitable locations should be taken up,” he said while addressing the high-level meeting attended by a few industry leaders and senior officials. The government has already taken up projects, including land acquisition to build township projects in Bidadi (AI City), Sarjapur (SWIFT City) and Doddaballapur (KWIN City). It had also announced a mega-township project in Nandagudi, near Hoskote, and in Solur, near Magadi. The government is also looking at a comprehensive development plan covering three districts such as Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South.312-km metro expansionThe meeting discussed an extensive mobility plan for Bengaluru and its outskirts. The government proposes to expand the metro network by another 312 km by 2037, in addition to adding 72 km to the under-construction 149-km Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project. Plans were also discussed to construct a 210-km ring road connecting 10 additional hubs and to link Peripheral Ring Road-2 with NICE Road. The meeting also discussed a proposed 270-km Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) connecting the Bengaluru-Tumakuru, Bengaluru-Mysuru and Bengaluru-KGF corridors. There was also a proposal to extend the planned Mumbai-Bengaluru high-speed rail corridor up to Mysuru. The BMR is expected to require around 3,600 million litres per day (MLD) of water by 2037, the meeting noted. At present, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) supplies about 1,950 MLD of water while much of the areas in the city’s outskirts are yet to be covered with piped water connections.Karnataka universities ask colleges to prepare for student elections Shivakumar directed officials to give priority over the next decade to projects involving the reuse of treated wastewater and the filling of lakes, apart from addressing the city’s drinking water and industrial requirements. The government has also proposed constructing up to 6.5 lakh houses to provide affordable housing to residents, the press note said. A senior official who attended the meeting told DH that aid the proposals discussed at the meeting were recommendations of the advisory committee engaged by the government to prepare an economic development plan for the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (BMR). “The committee is yet to submit the final report. Once the report is finalised, the discussion on resource mobilization and project implementation will be initiated,” he said.

Source: Deccan Herald