BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s newly elected mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun on Tuesday said there is no need for a separate official bungalow for the mayor, terming it as just “a waste of public money”. In March this year, the then mayor Sampath Raj, who is also from the Congress, had proposed a separate official bungalow for the mayor on the lines of the Chief Minister’s official residence Krishna. This was to conduct meetings, interact with the public and other events.
A sum of Rs 5 crore was announced in the BBMP budget, which was presented in March before the code of conduct for the Assembly elections came in force. Now, Gangambike has refused to spend money on this proposal. “Unlike the CM, the mayor will be a local resident of Bengaluru. Also, the mayor’s term is just for a year. There is no need for him or her to have a separate bungalow as they reside in Bengaluru. Instead of spending such a big amount on a bungalow, which is not needed, the same amount can be used for development works,’’ she said.
She also said there is no need for a Commissioner’s official residence too. Sampath Raj had also spent close to Rs 25 lakh on a silver key, baton and Kempegowda statue to hand over to his successor. The public and opposition had criticised this and said it was unnecessary.