Private players may be allowed to develop, maintain City roads

The State government is thinking of developing a few roads in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) region on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George announced on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters here, George said the government was open to the idea of allowing private players to develop and maintain around 15 to 16 roads in Bengaluru on an annuity basis. Under the model, a road developer is awarded the project to maintain and develop particular stretches of roads and the cost of project is paid by the government in instalments.

The government could also consider imposing a toll on the roads for resource mobilisation. The responsibility of maintaining the stretches will rest with the road developer for 10 to 15 years, he said.

George said the State was thinking of roping in private players to develop and maintain roads inside the City as the cost of such projects was becoming very high for the government alone to bear. The proposal would be taken forward after discussion with the chief minister and also eliciting the opinion of the people. The road developer would be selected after calling for global tenders, he said.

While the list of roads was yet to be finalised, stretches in the core areas of the City and those with heavy traffic density are likely to be considered, he said.

Lakebeds

The minister said the government had allowed construction activities and development of layout in areas of lakebeds which had lost all features. However, the Revenue department still maintained these localities in its records as lakes. This had led to confusion over the actual extent of encroachment of lakes. He said the beneficiaries who had been allotted sites by the BDA on lakebeds cannot be blamed. He said the government would take a final decision on lake encroachments after the legislature committee looking into the issue submits its report and recommendations.

Metro rail

George said the government would soon write to the Commissioner of Railway Safety to inspect and provide safety certification for the stretch of Namma Metro between Magadi Road and MG Road.

The stretch will be commissioned for operation once  the certification is obtained, he said.
 He said the road near Minsk Square, which was badly damaged due to Metro construction, would be repaired at the earliest.