HC questions BBMP's work on SWD cleaning

The Karnataka High Court on Saturday questioned the civic body Commissioner on the cleaning and maintenance of stormwater drains in the city. The court also orally observed that the funds from the state government for stormwater drain cleaning will be released to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) based on the quality of work done.

While hearing a petition on potholes, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari also touched upon the issue of cleaning of stormwater drains. The court then sought to know if the contracts given by the BBMP for the construction of SWDs comprise of a liability component and do they also include maintenance of the SWDs after construction."

N Manjunath Prasad, BBMP Commissioner, submitted his response to the court that the BBMP contracts for the construction of the SWDs come with a 3-year liability. Presently it is BBMP that is undertaking the maintenance of the SWDs.

The Commissioner also added that they are securing robotic excavators for the cleaning of the SWDs and they have floated tenders for the same. However, they have not received any response. The court orally observed that if they increase their credibility and trust people would come as people currently don't trust BBMP.

The Commissioner also submitted that unlike before when they would clean the SWDs only before the monsoon, now the government has agreed to allow them to do it regularly throughout the year.

The court then sought to know the contingencies faced by BBMP in the cleaning of SWDs. The Commissioner stated that the state government has agreed to fund BBMP's one-time cleaning. Thereafter the cleaning of the SWDs will be handed over to the contractors.