Delay in implementing social welfare schemes: members flay Palike

Close to one year after the BBMP announced social welfare schemes for the urban underprivileged in its budget, no schemes have been implemented yet.

Raising the issue at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's monthly council meeting on Monday, members cutting across party lines expressed dissatisfaction over the way the civic body was implementing the programmes.

During the BBMP budget in 2017-78, Rs 772 crore was earmarked for social welfare schemes. However, none of the schemes - be it the distribution of laptops, sewage machines, bicycles, iron boxes for the people belonging to SC/ST communities were implemented and nor tenders are called till now.

Mayor R Sampath Raj directed to take immediate action in this regard.

Ruling party new leader

M Shivaraju, BBMP member from Mahalakshmi Layout was appointed as the Palike's ruling party chief. Mohammed Rizwan Nawab was the previous leader.

Inset box

Bellandur fire: engineers taken to task

Mayor R Sampath Raj reprimanded officials for the Bellandur Lake fire.
"No assistant executive engineer ever informed us about the fire in the lake. It was only through media that we got to know about it. Union Minister Prakash Javedkar visited the lake after the incident. However, the officials have not even bothered to visit the lake," Raj said.

He directed the officials to inform the higher authorities about any such situations immediately and warned them to face suspension if they failed to do so.