BENGALURU: The city is awaiting a state budget that would pave the way to consolidate its global image and rid its woes — particularly those of congested traffic with 78 lakh vehicles, polluted lakes and mass rail and bus transport.Experts, however, point out that instead of announcing new projects, it is hightime that the multi-year projects announced in previous years need to be focused on.
Urban infrastructure expert V Ravichandar said two years ago Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced Rs 7,300 crore for various development works, especially to ease the traffic.These are multi-year projects and the budget for the city should be headed in this direction. "Instead of announcing new projects, he should ensure that previous projects are on right track,” he said.With this in mind, the state government also needs to intervene and allocate funds for rejuvenation works for lakes and to increase ground water level.
BUS TRANSPORT
Last year, Siddaramaiah promised 3,000 new buses for Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), but the corporation has a fleet size of 6167 buses -- something that needs strengthening. “We hope for direct support for the BMTC from the Chief Minister. It will also help us further reduce fares,” said a BMTC official.
CITY RAIL SERVICES
“BMRCL is expecting regular contribution from the state to be released for its ongoing Phase-II projects,” a top Metro source said. The state budget is likely to allocate a considerable amount for the City’s Suburban Rail Network. The D17,000-cr project which will run to 161km was cleared in the Union Budget and the Railways had sanctioned D12,061 cr.
ENERGY
The state budget should facilitate modernising the antiquated distribution network which leads to several faults and power cuts. Consumers are hoping the state government allots enough funds to finally upgrade the city’s electricity network to a modern one so that power cuts can be a thing of the past.
CM should not present a full-fledged budget: BSY
BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa demanded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not to present a full-fledged budget, but only an outlay for the next financial year. He said that since elections will be announced shortly, it will not be possible to implement the announcements made in the budget. Moreover, the state has not even spent 40-50 per cent of the allocations made in the previous budget, he alleged. He accused Siddaramaiah of misusing his mandate to fool the people. “Since the government has completely lost its credibility, it should not present the budget,” he demanded.