CM Bommai vows to release Rs 1,500 crore for SWD remodelling

The grant, a significant addition to the Rs 972 crore announced earlier, is expected to cover 158 kilometres of drain network

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai promised to release Rs 1,500 crore to build cement walls for stormwater drains (SWDs), days after he told the state legislature council that the BBMP’s SWD remodeling project will require Rs 4,670 crore.

The grant, a significant addition to the Rs 972 crore announced earlier and to be a part of the next round of fund allocation to Bengaluru, is expected to cover 158 kilometres of drain network mostly located in the city’s peripheral areas.

The promise to release Rs 1,500 crore was one of the key assurances Bommai gave at a three-hour-long meeting of his cabinet colleagues, MPs, MLAs, and MLCs. The meeting that happened Sunday also discussed several key issues related to Bengaluru.

Much of the issues concerned fixing bad roads by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Though representatives of the BDA, Bescom, Namma Metro and BWSSB were at the meeting with detailed presentations, matters concerning their departments were not covered due to paucity of time.

Having listened to all MLAs from Bengaluru across party lines, Bommai promised Rs 6,000 crore under the AMRUT Nagarothana programme, directing BBMP officials to prepare an action plan.

Among the instructions given by the Chief Minister was to complete the first and second phase of white-topping (137-km) in the next three months (75% of which has been finished).

He asked officials to terminate the contract to a private consortium to fix 5 lakh LED streetlights, besides asking them to start the process to appoint 150 civil engineers to the BBMP.

Bommai was reportedly averse to the idea of adding new villages to the BBMP limits, but was keen to increase the number of city wards from 198 to 243.

Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavalli was among several legislators to highlight the lack of coordination between agencies like the BBMP, BWSSB, and Bescom leading to newly laid roads being dug up frequently.

Bommai responded by announcing the formation of zonal-level coordination committees made of the civic agencies and government departments to execute civic works and a monitoring committee at the state level.

He said a government order to this effect will be issued in two to three days.

Dasarahalli MLA R Manjunath was unhappy over the BWSSB’s water and sewer pipe-laying work, which he said L&T Ltd had subcontracted to a different company that was doing a shoddy job.

Byatarayanapura MLA Krishna Byre Gowda said the state government should not cut grants to constituencies represented by non-BJP MLAS and ensure funding is equally distributed.

MLC P R Ramesh was dismayed over lack of opportunity for legislative council representatives to speak at the meeting. “Even the meeting agenda was not shared,” he said.

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