BDA avoids guidance value through auctions

The the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has invited widespread resentment over its recent advertisement on auction of intermediate housing plots across the city instead of allotting the sites to deserved beneficiaries at subsidised rates. Though social activists as well as some members of the ruling Congree party have opposed the practice of auctioning of sites, the BDA has once again advertised the auction of intermediate housing plots, say media reports. BDA acquires land from farmers for distribution among the public at subsidised rates. Hence, the legality of auctioning plots by the State-run body has been a matter of debate for some time. But the latest announcement on on November 7 has been a source of consternation because of the price at which the government agency wants to dispose the plots. The base price of the plots has been fixed between Rs. 6,500 and Rs. 8,500 per square feet. Several ruling Congress leaders and social activists and RTI activists have said the rate mentioned above is more than the guidance value fixed by the government.