Sampat Althur

Founder Pop-Up Housing.Ex Aerospace Engineer (Honeywell and Infosys).Ex - Program Manager, Built Environment at Selco Foundation. Owner @ReddysResidencypg.

[Narendra Modi @narendramodi]

Speaking at the 45th anniversary celebrations of The Art of Living in Bengaluru. @ArtofLiving https://t.co/AX7Z2T0gXY

[Mahesh.BR @Maheshbr4U]

■Major developments on #Bengaluru Land use change, under e-Khatha ■
●First of its Kind in #India, Automatic land-use conversion enabled to Commercial/ Industrial/Service etc, during plan approval.
● B-Khata → A-Khata conversion is now legally enabled under this framework, benefiting lakhs of property owners who bought sites in Unauthorised layouts.
● Getting A-Khata now becomes easier, which directly enables,Bank loans,Higher property valuation
Simpler resale.
● Need to be extended to entire #Karnataka & also system related issues need to be sorted out.
@CMofKarnataka @DKShivakumar @krishnabgowda @MBPatil
📸 : @timesofindia #Karnataka

[Nagesh Baswantharao @Nagesh09Patil]

@GBAChiefComm : Can you share the details related to statistics related to B khata to A khata conversion progress as on date

[Mahesh.BR @Maheshbr4U]

#Karnataka Govt. has issued a order regularising upto 15% deviations in building with Penalty. #Bengaluru GBA order is being issued separately.
For City Corporations like GBA , Penalty for Setback/ FAR is:
■ Residential: ₹2000/SqM(₹186/Sft)
■Commercial: ₹3000/SqM(₹279/Sft)
Earlier it was allowed only upto 5%. Many Citizens esp . Apartment owners will have a relief.
📷: @timesofindia

[Tejasvi Surya @Tejasvi_Surya]

This invitation from history of Jayanagara’s inauguration in 1948 is a reminder of how Bengaluru went from Jayanagar’s planned blueprint to today’s maddening chaos.

The invitation reveals the seriousness with which our leaders once approached city-building. It wasn’t merely an inauguration. It was a declaration - that urban development was an act of nation-building.

Jayanagar was conceived by the Bangalore City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) - precursor to today’s BDA - guided by the spirit of Sir M. Visvesvaraya and the Mysore Maharajas’ foresight. It was one of Asia’s earliest and most thoughtfully planned urban layouts.

It was built on principles that cities like Tokyo, New York and London followed:

• Grid-based planning
• Dedicated civic zones and markets
• Wide tree-lined roads and footpaths
• Abundant public parks and playgrounds

Even the act of inviting the Governor-General to inaugurate a neighbourhood showed how civic growth was seen as a matter of pride, not paperwork. Urban planning was driven by engineers, architects, and visionaries - not contractors and consultants.

Every road had a logic. Every park had a purpose. Every design decision carried dignity.

Leaders like the Maharajas and Visvesvaraya believed that cities reflected a civilisation’s discipline.

The Mysore administration treated urban growth as a long-term institution-building exercise. They built universities, dams, townships, and layouts that still function after seven decades. Their belief was simple: a city must be engineered, not improvised.

Today, unfortunately, we live amid the ruins of that foresight.

Where there were walkable boulevards, we have potholes and parking chaos. Where there were civic squares, we have encroachments and flyovers. Where there was once planning, we now have “projects.”

Our political leadership - cutting across parties - has confused construction with development and visibility with vision.

Institutions like the BDA, once envisioned as planning agencies, have been reduced to contractors’ departments.

The result is what we see daily:

• Roads without design logic
• Footpaths that begin nowhere and end abruptly
• Drainage systems built after the rain
• Metro alignments retrofitted into chaos

It’s not just inefficiency; it’s the absence of imagination. Lack of commitment and sincerity.

The 1948 Jayanagar inauguration invitation is is a mirror showing us how much dignity our forebears attached to civic order, and how little we have preserved of it.

That single event symbolised urban governance as a national calling.

Today, our cities are governed by short-termism and populism - with no professional planning cadre, no respect for design, and no accountability for outcomes. Just sheer opportunism.

We have lost the plot of urbanisation.
And in losing that, we are losing the very quality of urban life.

If we are to rebuild Bengaluru - or any Indian city - we must go back to the ethos that created Jayanagar:

• Plan before you build.
• Design for people, not for vehicles.
•Let professionals lead, not politicians meddle.
• Treat civic dignity and urban quality of life as non-negotiable.

The story of Jayanagar should inspire a new generation of urban reformers to ask:

“What kind of city do we want to leave behind - a monument to neglect and greed, or a model of vision and inspiration?”

Urbanisation is India’s destiny. But without leadership like the Mysuru Maharajas or Sir Visvesvaraya’s, it may also become our greatest failure.

@narendramodi
@yaduveerwadiyar

#urbanindia #urbanisation

[ChristinMathewPhilip @ChristinMP_]

GBA Commissioner directed creation of TDR (Transferable Development Rights) Cells in all city corporations to ensure equitable distribution of public amenities and facilitate smoother implementation of infrastructure projects.

[Greater Bengaluru Authority @GBA_office]

🔊 ಆತ್ಮೀಯ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಾಗರಿಕರೇ,

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರದಿಂದ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರದ ಬಿ-ಖಾತಾ ನಿವೇಶನ ಮಾಲೀಕರಿಗೆ ಅತಿ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಉಡುಗೊರೆ✨

ಬಿ-ಖಾತಾ ದಿಂದ ಎ-ಖಾತಾ ಪರಿವರ್ತನೆಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ಹೊಸ ನಿವೇಶನಗಳಿಗೂ ಎ-ಖಾತಾವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಲು ಮಾನ್ಯ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರಾಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಡಿ.ಕೆ ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ರವರಿಂದ

[Sampat Althur @Sampat_Althur]

A first of its kind Pallet Rack Housing @PopupHousing

[Mahesh.BR @Maheshbr4U]

In a first of its kind in #India & #GreaterBengaluruAuthority, GBA's first Citizen centric order , Buildings constructed on 1200 Sqft site in #Bengaluru are exempted from Occupancy Certificate . It is applicable for for G+2 or Stilt + 3 Floors.
#Karnataka @CM@CMofKarnataka

[Greater Bengaluru Authority @GBA_office]

Visit website https://t.co/hcn7hlR7yE to access resources to take action on the Bengaluru climate action clubs initiative.
#BluGreenuru #YouthForClimate #ClimateActionClubs #GreenChampions #Bengaluru #bengaluruclimateaction
#greaterbengaluruauthority #GBA

[Dravisha @dravishakatoch]

We bought Bengaluru’s map (1983 edition) from a collector. (42 years old)

And it turns out, HSR & Indiranagar are non existent. Jayanagar is almost central of the city.

Now, onto finding our fav places on the map and see if they existed back then xD

[Prasad Karwa @PrasadKarwa]

Spreading msg of peace and love even in the region of conflicts.

[Mahesh.BR @Maheshbr4U]

In a Major boost to Industrialization of #Karnataka :
■ Agriculture land upto 2 Acres are exempted from Land use conversion.
■ Online registration of KIADB/BDA/other Govt agencies land registration without need to go to Subregistar.
Compliments to Industry Minister @MBPatil !
#Bengaluru @CMofKarnataka @DKShivakumar
📷: @TOIIndiaNews @VijayaKarnataka

[ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ಹೆಚ್ ಬಿ @mallikaugust]

@naveenmzs @NammaBengaluroo @WFRising @BLRCoalition @_kanakapuraroad @bengalurureal @BAFBLR @Bangalorereal1 The total height is capped to 15 mtr which includes 3 mtr of stilt floor if constructed else it is 12 mtr only. Setbacks are still not realistic for smaller plots but instead they increased it rather than reducing it for smaller plots (The clause which ever is higher). Bad one.

[Naveen Menezes @naveenmzs]

In a new notification, GoK excludes stilt floor from the total height of buildings coming up on plots not exceeding 4,000 sq. metres

The exclusion will allow property owners in Blr to build an extra floor, on top of ground + 3 floors

Govt insists stilt floor be only for parking

[DK Shivakumar @DKShivakumar]

Good news for Bengaluru!

The long wait is over: B Khata properties registered before Sept 30, 2024, are now 'A Khata'

This landmark reform ensures legal ownership, access to essential civic services, and finally puts an end to years of uncertainty.

With this reform, we are bringing long-overdue order to the system and ensuring a more planned, inclusive, and empowered Bengaluru.

#Khata | #Bengaluru | #Reforms

[Ashwin Mahesh @ashwinmahesh]

@BBMPofficial The supply of legal alternatives has to be higher. If BBMP and BDA do not ensure that adequate number of housing units of all types come up, naturally there will be an illegal market. What can BBMP do to ensure that those who now stay in the illegal PGs have alternate options?

[PublicTV @publictvnews]

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗರಿಗೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಗುಡ್‌ ನ್ಯೂಸ್‌ – ಎ ಖಾತಾದಂತೆ ಬಿ ಖಾತೆಗಳಿಗೂ ಅಧಿಕೃತ ಮಾನ್ಯತೆ; ಸಂಪುಟ ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆ https://t.co/nuRggYrLkU

#Cabinet #BKhata #AKhata #Bengaluru #Bengaluru

[Prashant Pitti @ppitti]

I am committing INR 1 Cr to find Bangalore Choke-Points via Google Maps & AL.

11 km → 2.15 hours in Bangalore Traffic on Saturday late night!

I was stuck at one choke-point at ORR, where I spent 100 mins struggling to understand why there is no traffic-light or cop here!

But I don’t want one more “Bengaluru Traffic Memes or Rant”. I WANT TO FIX IT.

Very recently, in April 2025, Google Maps started sharing "Road Management Insight". It's a city-level data in Big Query format.

Using Google Data and Satellite Imagery, we can list down all the choke-points & their exact timings in a month. For the traffic department to work on those areas specifically.

I am willing to spend INR 1 Crore on this project by funding: 1-2 senior ML/AI engineers. And providing budget for using Google Maps API calls, Satellite Imagery & GPUs

I will start this project, when BTP/BBMP: Open their raw feeds or API access AND names a team, committed to acting on the insights we generate.

🙌 How can you help right now?

1. TAG anyone you know in the Bangalore Traffic Office, BBMP or the Traffic Commissioner’s office, let this hit the right inbox.

2. ML/AI folks: comment "IN", if you can work along part-time to end this menace

3. Every commuter who’s sick of bleeding time: comment or share. More noise -> faster response.

Bengalore is India’s tech future; and people making it happen deserve MUCH better.

#BangaloreTraffic #AIforGood #OpenData #CSR #peakbengaluru