CH NEWS, BENGALURU The government has notified a new road grid for areas of Bengaluru Urban district outside the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), aiming to ensure that future urban growth is supported by roads, drinking water, drainage and other basic infrastructure. Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the plan was needed because the city had expanded rapidly over the past 25 years without enough advance planning. This has contributed to traffic congestion and continuing problems with roads, drinking water and drainage. The Minister said urbanisation was now spreading quickly beyond the GBA limits. He said Bengaluru’s urbanised area, currently around 750 sq km, could expand to 1,400–1,800 sq km in the coming years. The new road grid has been planned to connect taluk and hobli headquarters with major district roads, State highways, the Peripheral Ring Road and the Satellite Town Ring Road. The identified roads have been notified as CDP roads to support planned expansion. Some existing roads that are 10 metres wide have been proposed for widening to 30, 45 or up to 90 metres. The Minister said construction of the full road network could take five to ten years. Citizens have been advised to check the notification before constructing houses or developing layouts. Land required for notified road corridors will have to remain vacant as per applicable laws. Details of the notification will be uploaded on the BMRDA website. Officials have also been directed to provide videos showing existing and proposed road alignments and display road details at Gram Panchayat and Revenue Department offices. The roads will be developed in phases based on priority, as the network covers thousands of kilometres. Officials said the plan aims to prevent future infrastructure problems in Bengaluru’s growing outskirts.