Beyond Bengaluru: Karnataka to draw up urbanisation plan 2047 to rein in unplanned growth

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• Karnataka to prepare Urbanisation Plan 2047 to guide balanced regional growth
• Plan aims to curb unregulated sprawl and strengthen hubs beyond Bengaluru
• Urban areas projected to reach 70 percent of Karnataka's population by 2047

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The Karnataka government has initiated steps to prepare a State Regional Urbanisation Plan 2047, a long-term strategy aimed at curbing unregulated urban sprawl and steering balanced growth across the state.

The Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) along with the Karnataka State Town Planning Board (KSTPB) has been entrusted with the plan on behalf of the urban development department (UDD). DULT recently invited a tender to appoint a consultant for the project, as rapid urbanisation reshapes the state’s demographic and economic landscape.

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The plan will serve as a mandatory base document for future urban and regional planning exercises, officials familiar with the development told Moneycontrol. These include metropolitan and regional master plans, industrial corridor programmes, transport and logistics strategies, and the expansion of health, education and other social infrastructure.

“Urban areas are projected to account for nearly 70 percent of Karnataka’s population by 2047, translating to an estimated 5.5 crore urban residents. Without a coordinated framework, this growth risks becoming fragmented and infrastructure-deficient,” a senior urban development official said.

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Beyond Bengaluru

Officials said the strategy will define differentiated pathways for Bengaluru, tier-2 and  3 cities and smaller towns, acknowledging that a one-size-fits-all approach has contributed to uneven regional development.

“The idea is to reduce over-dependence on Bengaluru by strengthening regional hubs such as Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi and Kalaburagi, while also planning for peri-urban and small-town growth,” the official added.

While Bengaluru occupies a limited geographic footprint, it anchors a disproportionate share of Karnataka’s economy. Officials acknowledge that its success has also resulted in mounting pressure on infrastructure, service delivery, and coordination across multiple agencies.

The plan will focus on region planning beyond municipal boundaries, integrating land use, housing, mobility and infrastructure across city tiers.

Another official said the strategy would include mapping urban clusters, industrial and logistics corridors, and assessing infrastructure gaps to prioritise investments. “The focus is on planned corridors and early safeguarding of rights-of-way to avoid the mistakes of reactive urban expansion,” the official said.

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Guiding future investments

The Urbanisation Plan 2047 will guide a wide range of government initiatives, including satellite town development, IT-BT-AI corridors, tourism circuits, and region-specific policies such as those for the Kalyana Karnataka region.

Officials said the plan is intended to be implementation oriented, with phased timelines, financing options and coordination mechanisms across departments.

“This is not just a vision document. It is meant to translate population projections into infrastructure readiness and institutional capacity, so that growth is channelled rather than chased,” the official said.

The draft strategy is expected to be placed before the government later this year following stakeholder consultations and inter-departmental reviews.