BENGALURU
To shake off its image of a snail-paced, inaccessible agency, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has rolled out a slew of sweeping, citizen-oriented reforms.
Among the biggest change-drivers are a 24×7 grievance helpline, open houses for unresolved cases, a push towards full digitisation by January 2026, and a major legal revamp to tackle thousands of pending litigations.The reforms were set rolling with the first open house held last month.
A senior BDA official claimed the authority has already started seeing results, with 60-70 pending cases resolved in the last three months.
One of the residents from a BDA apartment in Kengeri said, “All the deliberations so far are only on an individual basis. If RWAs are involved, where most of the problems lie, it will be really helpful.”
“As of this month, BDA is locked in 4,892 cases in various courts, many of them dating back several decades, largely over land acquisition and allotment issues. Earlier, advocates were paid only Rs 500 for each hearing, with many of them not appearing regularly. We are now restructuring the entire system to engage competent lawyers and speed up resolutions, the official said.
“The authority, which has created 64 layouts and allotted around 8,000 sites so far, admits that a significant portion of its land still remains under litigation or encroachment. We are now taking time-bound steps to provide alternative sites,” he said.
Dial 94831-66622
“To bring citizens closer to the administration, BDA has launched a 24×7 citizen helpline 9483166622. Citizens can call or send their complaints on WhatsApp. Once registered, their case will be reviewed within 30 days. If the issue remains unresolved, they will be invited to an open house in the presence of the competent officer, where it will be resolved, he added. Some issues that have been pending for 20-30 years have now been resolved through these open meetings,” said a BDA official.