With Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai chairing two different meetings with senior officials in the last two weeks, the state government’s inclination to white-top a fresh set of roads has become evident.
But it is not clear if the government would proceed with already tendered roads or would opt for different ones.
On January 12, a day after the chief minister’s first meeting, the Urban Development Department (UDD) sent a letter to the BBMP’s Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath, requesting information about previous tenders for the third phase of white-topping. These tenders were submitted during H D Kumaraswamy’s tenure as chief minister, but the project was not carried out due to paucity of funds. The UDD’s letter places the responsibility of deciding whether to use the old tenders or float new ones on the BBMP.
Out of the six packages tendered in 2019, the BBMP has issued work orders for two packages and Letter of Acceptance (LoA) for three more. The sixth tender was still under review.
In its previous communication to the UDD, Palike’s legal cell said the civic body would lose at least Rs 38 crore in the arbitration battle if it fails to honour its agreements with the construction firms. Despite the loss, the civic body recommended floating fresh tenders since the roads selected in the old tenders had been asphalted in the last two years.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) held another meeting on white-topping earlier this week, the outcome of which is not available. Senior BBMP officials are also tight-lipped over the matter.
(Published 25 January 2023, 17:17 IST)
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