Parameshwara announces Rs 50,000 cr project for city

A project worth Rs 50,000 crore to develop Bengaluru, the IT capital of India, is on the cards.

With an aim to upgrade the amenities on the lines of other international cities, the state government is up for a huge development plan for the city, said G Parameshwara, Deputy Chief Minister and Bangalore Development Minister.

Speaking at the inauguration of Shankar Mutt ward development programme on Monday, Parameshwara said: “I have ordered the officials to prepare a roadmap to develop the city in the next five years,” he said.

“The pace at which the city is growing is tremendous, and we will spend Rs 50,000 crore for the project,” Parameshwara said.

He added that property tax collection was important to increase the revenue targets.

“A total of Rs 2,500 crore property tax collection is pending. I have ordered the officials to take strict action against the defaulters. The names of defaulters will be published if they fail to pay the tax,” he added.

However, the details of the project are not yet known.

The minister also said the steel flyover project would be taken up, despite the general opposition.

“There is some opposition for the steel flyover project. This is an elevated road. But it is called steel bridge as a certain amount of steel will be used in the construction process. We will not let go this project just because some people oppose it. We will be transparent during the process. If anyone comes in the way, we may resort to legal action against them.”

Reacting to this, Srinivas Alavilli, co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru said: “It is very unbecoming of the minister. We are asking for public consultation. We want the government to consider the development of Bengaluru in a holistic way. We cannot build things in isolation. Let there be more push for the sub-urban rail and metro network.”

Parameshwara also said the state cabinet has approved replacing the sodium vapour lamps with LED lights as this would help the BBMP save Rs 18 crore per month. “Our goal is to transform Bengaluru into a global city,” said Parameshwara.

A badminton court, tennis roof and a BBMP office were constructed under the Shankar Mutt ward development programme.

Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun, BBMP ruling party leader M Shivaraju and BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad were present on the occasion.