BENGALURU: Bengaluru is expected to turn into a smart city under the Centre’s project. But Bengaluru Development Minister K J George doesn’t think so. “The Smart City Project is just a hype,” George told Express on Tuesday.
Bengaluru is the seventh city in the state to be selected under the project.George chaired a meeting to discuss works to be taken up under the project and put them on fast-track mode. A sum of Rs 1,800 crore is to be spent over the next five years. Of that, Centre will give Rs 100 crore every year for five years and the state has to release Rs 500 crore, while the rest will be raised from private institutions.
“Merely taking up works under the project will not make the city smart. For Bengaluru, Rs 1,800 crore will be sufficient to develop only one area, may be Central business district,” George said.
“Moreover, the state cannot wait for Rs 100 crore a year from the Centre to complete the projects. I have directed officials to prepare an action plan.”
Assembly elections in the state are due early next year. George as the minister in-charge of Bengaluru development wants to make most of the remaining time to show results.
Bengaluru Development Minister K J George may be sceptical of the Centre’s Smart City project, but he is putting in place a system by roping in experts to prepare a plan for Bengaluru and implement the works under the project. Bengaluru has now been selected under the Smart City project.
On Tuesday, George held a meeting with Swati Ramanathan, co-founder of Janaagraha, and officials from BBMP and other government departments.
Stating that the funds allocated under the project are too meagre compared to what Siddaramaiah government has been investing on the IT city’s development, George told Express, “The government is spending over Rs 7,500 crore this year. In the last two years, Rs 2,000 crore worth works have been taken up.”
Commuting on Bengaluru roads is a nightmare and works under the Smart City project do not address those issues. George claims that the government is trying to do its best without waiting for any central projects or funds.
“After the first phase of Metro is fully operational, around 3 lakh people are taking Metro,. The number will increase drastically after more coaches are added and frequency is increased. The number of people taking Metro will increase further after the second phase is ready,” the minister added.
Listing out the state government’s plans for the city that are in various stages of implementation, the minister said, “In the first phase of sub-urban rail project, the state government is thinking of connecting Whitefield to Baiyappanahalli and Kengeri to Nayandahalli using existing tracks.”