Outfit accuses BBMP of footing bills for incomplete, non-existent works

The Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP) has accused the BBMP of footing a Rs 8.5-crore bill for incomplete or non-existent works.

The works pertain to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) stormwater drain (SWD) department of Bellandur ward.

Based on a ground survey conducted by its members, the BNP said the Rs 8.5 crore “spent on three works” — construction of an RCC U-shape drain to the SWD between Kaikondanahalli tank and Sowl tank, Kasavanahalli tank, Kaikondanahalli and Haralur tank — has gone down the drain.

In a statement, the BNP claimed that while the work involved building a drain over a few kilometres, the actual construction has taken place over a few hundred metres only. “The drain has not been constructed for most of the distance whereas the money has been spent completely.”

It cited the example of a concrete drain visible from Anajaneya Temple Road in Haralur towards Kasavanahalli Kere. No such work was taken up towards Haralur Kere. Similarly, a concrete drain is seen from Shriram Chirping Woods Road off Haralur Road to Kasavanahalli Kere, but the BBMP took up no work towards Kaikondrahalli Kere.

“This project is symptomatic of the malaise that is completely destroying Bengaluru, and in this specific case, Bellandur. These projects are decided without any application of mind and seemingly with the sole intention of serving certain commercial interests,” Rishvanjas Raghavan of BNP said.

The party slammed the BBMP for not consulting citizens and “surreptitiously” approving and executing the work “where bulk of the money is siphoned off by vested interests”.

BBMP officials, however, said the work was taken up only in parts. “We could not take up work on the entire length of the drain as the sanctioned amount was low,” a BBMP engineer said.

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