BENGALURU: The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has invited global tenders from consulting agencies for the preparation of a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based master plan for the Greater Bengaluru Local Planning Area.
Speaking to the TNIE, the GBA Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said the plan will include defining what a commercial area is, what residential areas are, and others.
A senior official in the GBA said that the plan will include acquiring land on the outskirts for some development projects and development of roads, urban forest, and water supply, as the city population is growing exponentially.
Tender eligibility criteria, scope of work, terms and conditions are available from the website of the e-procurement department (http//www/kppp.karnataka.gov.in)
The pre-bid meeting will be held on January 9, 2026, at the office of the Chief Town Planner, Greater Bengaluru Authority, NR Square in Hudson Circle, and the last date for the submission of the bid is January 10.
V Ravichandar, Civic Evangelist, said the GBA is the local planning authority and they are the right people to initiate the master plan. “Under the 74th Amendment, the individual corporation also has to submit their own plans, which become part of the overall plan, which gets meshed with the water supply, electricity, and other agencies that are part of the GBA.
GIS-based master plan a good move, says expert
“The GBA, as a local planning authority, is supposed to synthesize the plans of the multiple corporations, while they can facilitate the exercise through GIS. Finally, the exercises have to be decentralised at the corporate level. Ultimately, it has to be aggregated at the GBA level with other parastatal agencies,” Ravichandar said.
“This is definitely a good move, but at the same time it should be built as a rolling plan. It has to be updated every five years, unlike the existing one which remains static,” he added.
At present, only Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is the planning authority, which has the power to exercise outside the GBA limits, which is looking into layout plans and revenue generation for the government, but the GBA needs a plan, and hence the government has come out with a notification for a comprehensive plan for 709 sq km, said civic experts.
The story is reported by Mohammed Yacoob of The New Indian Express
