Belagavi Urban Development Authority (BUDA) on Tuesday decided to expand the boundaries of the city by including 28 villages.
A meeting of Ministers, legislators and officials also approved the preparation of a master plan based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology for the expanded city. The new urban agglomeration will include various villages and towns under the Local Planning Area.
Public Works Minister and district in-charge Satish Jarkiholi said that work on the two initiatives will start soon.
BUDA officers will work with senior officials of the State government and experts from various fields, including GIS mapping, urban planning, watershed and drainage management, transport and waste disposal.
BUDA Commissioner Shakeel Ahmed said that the master plan has expired and the old plan will be extended, till the revised plan is implemented.
The Minister asked officials to take steps to provide all necessary infrastructure and other amenities to residential layouts in Belagavi city.
At a meeting of officials of the district administration, BUDA and the city corporation, the Minister asked officials to strictly implement rules that mandate creation of roads, drains, gardens and other civic amenities in all the residential layouts in the city and surrounding areas.
All officers are duty-bound to see that illegal settlements do not come up. Promoters of all layouts should follow all rules regarding establishment of such layouts. Officials should accord approvals only after field visits and proper verification of documents, he said.
He asked officers to prepare and publish pricing and allotment of existing open plots. He also sought feedback from officials about rules followed during the e-auction and manual auction process of plots. He asked officials to scout for land required for a new sports stadium in the city.
Minister for Woman and Child Development Lakshmi Hebbalkar asked officials to build a stadium that can seat one lakh people. Sufficient land should be identified for this purpose, she said.
She asked officials to ensure that proper inspection is carried out before approval is given for new residential layouts and to see that there is no laxity in the implementation of rules.
Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil said that ₹87 crore has been set aside for the development of the new Kanabargi residential layout. Apart from Smart City works, ₹9 crore is available for other development works, he said.
Rajya Sabha member Eranna Kadadi, MLAs Abhay Patil, Vithal Halagekar and Asif (Raju) Sait, City Corporation Commissioner Ashok Dudgunti and other officials were present at the meeting.
