BBMP budget: MLAs prevail, get big funds for ward-level works

Bureaucrats seem to have yielded to pressure from MLAs in the BBMP budget.

Elected representatives have succeeded in convincing the civic body to set aside a whopping Rs 924 crore for ward-level works that usually lack accountability. Another Rs 830 crore has been kept aside for the discretionary use of the chief minister and two IAS officers in charge of the BBMP.

Both allocations have raised eyebrows not only in BBMP circles but also among senior BJP leaders. In all likelihood, the allocations may be slashed before the state government approves them.

After setting aside Rs 1,754 crore under the two allocations, the budget was left with few projects that can have a lasting impact or provide long-term solutions to the city.

Out of the Rs 924 crore allocated for ward-level works, each of the 132 wards falling in the city’s core areas will get Rs 4 crore while the 66 wards in the outlying areas will be given Rs 6 crore each. The funds will be mostly spent on cleaning drains, repairing footpaths and other basic works.

There was resistance from BBMP officials in allocating such large funds for ward-level works. The disagreements between MLAs and officials were so deep that the budget presentation got delayed. Going by the final budget, it appears that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai supported the MLAs, possibly in view of the upcoming assembly polls.

The second budgetary allocation that has raised the eyebrows is the discretionary grants given to the chief minister, who also holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, and two IAS officers, who are at the helm in the absence of the mayor and the deputy mayor.

A total of Rs 830 crore has been set aside under this category when historically there has been no account of how this money is spent.

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