Bengaluru: Civic works paused post polls, will resume soon, assure officials

The change of guard in the state has brought all infrastructure projects in the city to a grinding halt.

While a state government circular directed agencies to suspend projects already underway, it also interrupted ongoing works. Officials assure that this issue is temporary and will be addressed after Monday’s distribution of ministries.

The Rs 6-crore VV Puram food street facelift project remains stagnant since the announcement of the election result, with only half of the project completed.

The situation concerning others like junction-improvement projects, roadside-drain improvements and rajakaluve remodelling are no different. Furthermore, the development of the park surrounding the Kempegowda statue at the Kempegowda International Airport premises has made no progress, despite a Rs 20-crore allocation for constructing a sprawling theme park. Weeds are now taking over the site.

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BBMP sources assured that most ongoing works will be completed without complications. A senior BBMP official said: "The works may have been temporarily halted as we ceased releasing payments. Once the ministries are allocated, work will gradually resume within the next one or two days."

Sources also indicate that ongoing works, excluding the three Assembly constituencies where the incumbent MLAs have been replaced (Jayanagar, Govindarajanagar, and Dasarahalli), are unlikely to be affected.

K T Manjunath, president, BBMP Working Contractors Association, explained that the new government cannot modify works for which work orders have already been issued and are already halfway done.

"The majority of the Rs 6,000-crore works sanctioned by the government are ongoing. While some contractors may have halted their work due to the BBMP's payment suspension, the delay is only temporary."