BBMP seeks Rs 7,000 cr for civic works ahead of budget

The BBMP has sent a proposal seeking a fresh grant of Rs 7,000 crore allocation in the state budget to be presented on Friday.

While the state government is unlikely to approve the entire sum, speculations are rife that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will allocate a substantial sum for Bengaluru keeping the Assembly polls in mind.

It is customary for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to request funds from the state government ahead of the budget, while the state would allocate anywhere between Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 4,000 crore for the city development.

A report DH ran on February 13 notes that the BBMP has received Rs 28,356 crore from the state government in the last six years.

BBMP sources said the fresh proposal is made for works, including flyovers, white-topping of roads, stormwater drains, and solid waste management. It is not clear if the civic body has requested funds for lake rejuvenation since most waterbodies are in a bad shape.

Rs 2,100 cr for flyovers

A significant portion of the new proposal is to build elevated flyovers in various parts of the city, including one to provide access to the recently built Baiyappanahalli railway terminal and another between the Yeshwantpur railway station and New BEL Road.

The BBMP has also proposed flyovers at the ISRO Junction on Old Airport Road, Minerva Junction near Town Hall, Yelahanka, Kumaraswamy Layout, Kurubarahalli in Mahalakshmi Layout, and along Hosur Road (Forum Mall, Marigowda Road, and St John’s Hospital). The total cost of these projects is estimated to be Rs 2,100 crore. The flyovers are expected to reduce traffic bottlenecks, improve road safety, and increase accessibility in and around these areas.

Flyovers apart, the civic body has also asked for funds to build 1,000 km of footpaths, dry waste collection centres, public toilets, and to improve junctions.

It has also asked for a special grant to white-top a set of roads and a separate grant to restore roads dug up by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

Sandeep Anirudhan, convenor of Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru, said these proposals must be routed through the Metropolitan Planning Committee, the planning authority, as per the 74th amendment.

“It is acknowledged by experts world over that flyovers and underpasses do not work, and are superficial,” he said.

“They merely shift the point of congestion. The real fixes for a city’s traffic congestion are a holistic mobility plan that provides sufficient mass transit options and disincentivises ownership of private vehicles. No amount of road infrastructure can ever solve a city’s transport needs.”