JOIN US The State government has proposed 61 new projects for Bangalore and Mysore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM).
The projects include grade separators, public transport, storm water drains, etc. The estimated cost of the projects is Rs 5,265.22 crore, Minister for Urban Development, Vinay Kumar Sorake, said here on Monday.
The projects have been vetted by the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) and submitted to the Union government for approval, officials said. The KUIDFC Managing Director, Darpan Jain, said that some of the projects might be approved soon.
Sorake sounded equally confident and said he had already approached the Union ministers, including Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath, and the Secretary for Ministry of Urban Development, Sudhir Krishna, in that regard.
Key projects
Some key projects for Bangalore include the installation of metres to keep tabs on huge loss of water during supply to citizens.
The proposal by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) aims to set up more bulk flow metres to monitor water supply in and around the City.
Besides, the BWSSB has proposed to repair the TK Halli reservoir as it is in a dilapidated condition at present. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has submitted fresh proposals to remodel the primary and secondary storm water drains (SWD).
The JnNURM scheme of remodelling SWDs along the four valleys of Bangalore had previously hit several roadblocks and was stalled.
The total grant provided by the Centre for the project and which literally went down the drain was Rs 192 crore.
The minister acknowledged that several problems, including the dearth of contractors, posed hurdles to completion of the projects.
On the proposal to upgrade Tumkur, Shimoga and Bijapur to municipal corporations, Sorake said the matter was before the State cabinet.
If approved, the government would allocate Rs 100 crore to each city for development, he said.
On the suburban rail project for Bangalore, it is said the State government has proposed to the Centre that the cost be shared in 67:33 per cent cost ratio, with the latter contributing the larger amount.
The Centre, however, has not given its approval yet.
The project will be spread across 440 kilometres with five lines connecting Bangalore with Tumkur, Ramanagara, Bangarpet, etc.