Palike failed to implement housing projects for poor: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, released recently, has states that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has failed to implement housing projects taken up under the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP).

Of the 1,524 houses proposed to be built in the year 2007, only 63 houses have been completed.

The BBMP had in 2006-07 proposed re-development of 13 slums in the City by constructing 1,524 dwelling units (DU) at an estimated cost of Rs 69.03 crore. The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) approved the project in 2007 at a cost of Rs 50.88 crore and the project was handed over to Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation Ltd (KSPHCL) in March 2008. However, the KSPHCL took up construction of only 124 DUs for five slums.

Citing unwillingness of the beneficiaries, the remaining eight slums were replaced with 11 new slums with 1,400 DUs, the construction of which was handed over to Karnataka Slum Development Board (KSDB) in March 2010.

The KSDB further delayed the project calling for the tenders only in June 2011. When CAG conducted an audit, it found that the KSPHCL had constructed only 63 DUs of the said 124 and the KSDB had failed to build even a single DU. The Palike had released Rs 15.62 crore for the project, of which KSPHCL incurred an expenditure of Rs 7.59 crore and returned Rs 4.50 crore.

The inspection also showed that there were deficiencies in the project right from issuance of title deeds to allotment of the completed units. While the detailed project report said the land on which the settlement was proposed belonged to the Palike, it was found that the ownership of the land was with Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the title of the land with the beneficiaries of the Indira Gandhi Slum while the hakku patras (title deeds) had been issued to the Gangondanahalli slum dwellers.

Also, to ease allotment of houses, the KSDB and BBMP had been asked to conduct a socio-economic survey in the slums and issue a biometric card to each family. It was found that biometric cards were issued only in one slum. Further, of the 176 transit accommodations to be constructed near the Vyalikaval dhobi ghat slums, KSDB had built just 29 sheds and in the NS Palya slum, KSPHCL had paid slum dwellers a sum of Rs 35,000 each to make their own arrangements. However, there are no records of these slum dwellers, the report states.

Tardy road work

The CAG report also revealed that the work on underpass at CNR Rao circle has been delayed for over five years.

The project, which was approved in late 2007, was supposed to be completed in 10 months. As in December 2012, only 58 per cent of the work has been completed. The CAG has also termed the project as faulty and poorly conceived.

The CAG observed that the Palike consulted the Indian Institute of Science, the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) , only in late October 2008, regarding the acquisition of their land for the work.

“The alignment was faulty to such an extent that it was designed to pass through important installations and buildings due to which the land was not granted,” the report stated.  

A detailed progress report was submitted to the State-Level Empowered Committee (SLEC) in December 2007, and was approved in January 2008, with the cost of the project estimated at Rs 22.61 crore. However, in May 2008, the work was awarded to Mahadeva Hytech, with the cost estimated at Rs 30.1 crore and the deadline set for 10 months.