Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has directed the BBMP to begin repairing broken roads and undertake incomplete works, including altering rajakaluves prone to overflowing.
He had paused the civic work after taking office four months ago, citing a pending inquiry by a government-constituted team of IAS officers on the works executed before.
After inspecting the drainage work next to the Ayyappa Swamy temple in Vasanthnagar and the widening of the Jayamahal Road, Shivakumar told reporters that works approved but stopped after a change in the government will resume.
“We have started releasing partial payments to the contractors,” the deputy chief minister said.
“Up to 75% of the bills are being cleared. At the same time, the special investigation team (SIT) is continuing with its investigation. The previous government has sanctioned 353 works costing over Rs 5,000 crore. Engineers have been asked to complete the work as soon as possible,” Shivakumar said.
The government did not announce new programmes for the city, but the deputy chief minister has assured Rs 40-crore grant to every Congress legislator from Bengaluru since they complained of not receiving funds during the BJP dispensation.
During his inspection, Shivakumar found that the underground ducts created to embed optical fiber cables (OFCs) along TenderSURE roads remained unused. “Wherever we have created OFC ducts, no cables should be allowed above the ground,” Shivakumar instructed an official accompanying him.
The Bengaluru Development Minister directed BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath and engineer-in-chief BS Prahlad to immediately start the work of filling potholes and resume remodelling primary stormwater drains, which was stalled for several months.
Published 05 October 2023, 04:41 IST