JOIN USFunds crunch hampering BBMP, civic works, admits CM
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah admitted in the Assembly on Tuesday that the BBMP lacked financial resources to take up development works and this had resulted in slow pace of work. However, the government was trying to provide funds to the Palike.
Replying to a question by N A Haris (Cong) and others, Siddaramaiah said the pending bills of the BBMP to be cleared towards contractors were worth Rs 1,600 crore.
The BBMP has requested the government to sanction funds and the government will be releasing some funds. However, he did not specify the amount.
Earlier, Haris tabled questions regarding the ever-increasing vehicular traffic in Bangalore City and how it had now become a big problem. He sought to know the measures taken to ease the traffic in the last three years by the urban development department.
S R Vishwanath (BJP) said that as the BBMP lacks funds, the government must come to the help of the civic agency.
Replying to Haris, the chief minister said it is a fact that traffic density is increasing. There are about 46 lakh vehicles and 70 per cent of them are two- or three-wheelers. The population of the city is 85 lakh. Different agencies such as BBMP and BDA have taken up works such as road widening, grade separators and elevated road.
The pending works will be executed at the earliest, he assured the House.
Haris said the work on the free signal corridor from Hosur Road-Silk Board-Vellara junction has remained on paper because the Ministry of Defence has not yet parted with its land for road widening.
Suresh Kumar (BJP) said the foundation stone for the Okalipuram junction grade separator was laid on December 10 last.
But so far, tenders have not been finalised to commence work, despite acquiring railway land for it.
The chief minister said the agency for implementing the Okalipuram project had been identified and the work would begin soon. The cost of the project is Rs 188 crore.
List of works
The chief minister furnished a list of works being implemented and those which are being planned.
To ease traffic density on BDA’s Outer Ring Road, 18 traffic junctions, subways/bridges have been built and work on five projects is in progress. In addition, the BDA is building four new flyovers.
Five signal free corridors being built by spending Rs 618 crore are – Hosur Road (Central Silk Board-Vellara); Outer Ring Road-Central Silk Board; Old Airport–Kundalahalli; Old Madras Road-Mekhri Circle and Yeshwantpur Circle-Okalipuram.
The State government has funded work on four important grade separators – Basaveshwara Junction on West of Chord Road (tender process completed, cost of work Rs 58 crore); flyover on Rajajinagar 10th cross (tender work completed, Rs 25 crore); Magadi Road –Basaveshwarangar (work order issued, Rs 25 crore); Shivananda Circle flyover (plan report sought).