A group of former mayors of Bangalore are planning to submit a comprehensive development plan called ‘Bangalore Vision 2050’ for the city to the Chief Minister soon.
Former mayors P R Ramesh, J Hucchappa, K H N Simha and Pradeep Reddy talked about the plan in a press conference on Friday. To emphasise its importance, Ramesh said the city had expanded dramatically over the past three decades. In the 1980s, the city’s limits were just 85 sqkm, which was expanded to 153 sqkm and later 225 sqkm. In 2007, the city limits encompassed an area of 840 sqkm. “Whenever the Palike limits were extended, non-Congress governments, led by the Janata Dal (S) and BJP, were at the helm. But none of these governments focused on improving civic amenities,” he said.
Ramesh added more than `70 crore was being paid to State and Central governments from Bangalore in taxes. “Despite this, it is unfortunate that the city is not getting sufficient funds for development,” he said. “We have now chalked out plans with a vision of Bangalore in 2050. We have covered roads, solid waste management, public transport and development in our plan,” he added.
‘Trifurcate BBMP’
Ramesh said there was a need to trifurcate BBMP into three corporations in addition to creating a municipal corporation act.
“When BBMP was formed in 2007, many former mayors, including Krishna Iyer and G Narayana, opposed it, but the then government proceeded with it,” he said, calling on the government to take a decision on the trifurcation demand. However, he stressed the need to study various issues such as the city’s population, geography and other factors before deciding on trifurcation.