Know before You Buy: The Difference between BBMP, BMRDA, BDA, and DTCP

Before the RERA-era, investing in a project approved by the BDA or BBMP was considered a safe bet in Bangalore.

Ever wondered what the role of the BDA or BBMP is? Why should these government bodies approve a project? Is that approval necessary? In this post, we take you through the roles and responsibilities of each of these governing authorities.

BBMP

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is Bangalore’s administrative body.

Did you know?
BBMP is the fourth largest municipal corporation in India after Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

Commonly known as BBMP, it is administered by a city council that has elected representatives called ‘corporators’.

What is the role of the BBMP? The BBMP looks after the civic and infrastructure requirements of Bangalore. It also includes the maintenance of the civic and infrastructure assets of the city.

Some of the major responsibilities of the BBMP include:

• Undertaking zoning and building regulations
• Ensuring health and hygiene in the city
• Maintenance of open spaces and water bodies
• Building and maintaining sewage
• Maintenance of roads and bridges
• Waste management

To maintain the city effectively, the BBMP is divided into eight zones:

• West zone
• South zone
• East zone
• Bommanahalli
• Byatarayanapura
• Dasarahalli
• Mahadevapura
• Rajarajeshwarinagar

BDA

Falling under the jurisdiction of the Government of Karnataka, the Bangalore Development Authority is responsible for the entire city’s planning.

The primary role of the BDA involves zoning, planning, and regulation of the land in Bangalore. This is exactly why it is Bangalore’s largest land developer. This is also why no outside authority or person is allowed to develop land in the metropolitan region without the permission of the BDA.

Did you know?
BDA was formed on Jan 6th, 1976 under the BDA Act, 1976.

Before the BDA came into existence, the City Improvement Trust Board was in charge of the city planning.

Some of the focus areas of the BDA include:

• Planned development of Bangalore
• Creation of quality infrastructure
• Maintenance of lakes
• Addressing the housing requirements of economically weaker sections

BMRDA

Next is the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Also known as the BMRDA, it is an autonomous body in charge of planning, coordinating, and supervising the systematic development of areas falling under the Bangalore Metropolitan Region.

This includes Bangalore Urban District, Bangalore Rural District, and Ramnagar District.

Did you know?
The Chairman of the BMRDA is the Chief Minister of Karnataka and the Vice-Chairman is the Minister of Urban Development.

The main role of the BMRDA is to bring changes in the policies related to urban development.

Should you buy a BMRDA-approved site?

This is a tricky one. Wondering why? Well, as mentioned above, the main role of the BMRDA is to bring changes in the policies related to urban development. It does not provide approval for the layouts directly. The layout approvals should come from the local planning authorities.

Development in Anekal, Hoskote, Kanakapura, Magadi, Nelamangala, and Ramanagaram-Channapatna is permitted with planning authorities’ approval. For Devanahalli, the Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA) is the planning approval authority.

Always remember, the BMRDA only sets the rule for these planning authorities to help their master plans and does not approve a layout directly.

DTCP

Next, we have the Department of Town and Country Planning. Commonly known as DTCP, this is involved in the task of preparing master plans and their enforcement. Also, it sanctions the layout plan in the state, where the planning bodies like BMRDA, BDA, BIAAPA, etc do not exist.

The main functions of the DTCP include:

• Preparation of master plans
• Assisting the Karnataka State Town and Country Planning Board and giving technical assistance to Urban Development Authorities/Planning Authorities in plan preparation, implementation and enforcement under the Karnataka Town & Country Planning Act, 1961
• Offering assistance to developmental agencies like Karnataka Housing Board, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, and other such agencies
• Preparation of systematic, efficient, and safe traffic management schemes

By now, we hope that you are clear about the responsibilities of BDA, BBMP, BMRDA, and DTCP.

To make things further simpler, here’s a list that will help you in approaching the right authority for the right purpose.

A word of caution!

While buying a plotted development in Bangalore, refrain from buying plots that are approved by the Gram Panchayat. While these may have a clear title (in some cases), availing loan services for such plots in difficult when compared to BDA-approved ones.

All said and done, various policy reforms over the past two years have made the property dealings more transparent than ever before. Thus, the safest way is to go the RERA-way. Before investing in any property, make sure that the project is approved by the regulatory authority to stay away from legal hassles.