BENGALURU: Can money work the magic? The bumbling and crumbling Bengaluru is set to get a huge cash infusion, nearly Rs 1.20 lakh crore, from the state government for various development projects in the city.
Speaking after the ground breaking ceremony of Rs 58.44 crore-worth white-topping and comprehensive road development project in Chickpet on Tuesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made the significant announcement.
The CM also listed out the projects in the pipeline for Bengaluru. The CM said that the government will extend Metro lines and implement the Tunnel Road project, a new outer ring road and double-decker roads, among other projects, to decongest and develop Bengaluru.
The CM said white topping is being carried out to address the vexing issue of potholes so that roads will last for at least 30 years. He added that instructions have been given to officials to fill potholes by the end of October. “There should be no compromise on quality,” the CM said.
DCM DK Shivakumar said they are preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for white topping of 500 km of roads in the city at Rs 4,000 crore.
BCC: Farmers to get triple compensation
“White topping of 148 km of roads has already been taken up. A total of Rs 1,800 crore is being spent on the development of 83 roads. Black topping work is under way on 182 roads of 350 km length. Rs 695 crore is being spent on this. The chief minister has given a new grant of Rs 1,100 crore. We have taken up asphalting of 550 km of roads,” he said.
“In the last Cabinet meeting, a decision to build the 117-km-long Bengaluru Business Corridor was taken. Our government has decided to give bumper compensation to farmers. We have decided to give triple compensation, Transferable Development Rights (TDR), or Floor Area Ratio (FAR). No previous government had shown courage in this matter, though it was decided in 2007-08,” he said.
He said the government has decided to build 113 km-long elevated corridors in the city. The DCM stated that the 10,000 potholes have been closed and even invited the public to complain about the issue to get it fixed, unlike the previous BJP government under Basavaraj Bommai, which had to close 20,000 plus potholes under the supervision of the court monitoring committee.
He also said the government is helping people to avail loan for construction, and all 28 lakh properties in Bengaluru will be added to the e-khata. He said the initiative of e-khata is lauded by the central government and is called the 6th Guarantee of the Congress government.
The CM stressed that the idea of decentralising Bengaluru was proposed when BJP was in power, and after the Congress government came to power, five corporations were created.
Health Minister and local MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao said installation of fire hydrants at Chickpet is crucial as fire tenders find it difficult to enter narrow lanes during emergencies.