BENGALURU: Bengaluru, contributing over 40% of the state’s revenue, is likely to be on the top of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s mind when he presents his budget on Thursday. Bursting at its seam with a meteoric rise in vehicle numbers and shoddy maintenance, residents of the capital city have all but had it with the daily struggle of getting to work and back. Decongesting Bengaluru, something that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attempted in his budget presented earlier this year, is the one demand that most residents are unlikely to compromise on. Siddaramaiah’s announcement of providing alternative roads to ITPL and development of 250 km of footpaths will not be sufficient, according to experts. They hope Kumaraswamy will make more firm commitments to make the city livable again.
Public transport
According to Srinivas Alavilli of Citizens for Bengaluru, a civic group, the Budget must include support for the induction of 6,000 new buses by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), which had announced grand plans of expanding its fleet size a few years back but still operates around 6,000 buses. “Kumaraswamy also needs to subsidise bus fares by half,” he said.
Support for the Suburban Rail Network, a long-pending demand, is also high on everyone’s list. The rail, which has the capacity to move lakhs of people daily at a fraction of the cost of a Metro rail line, has been supported by all politicians without any concrete action by many. In the past two years, there has been some movement on this and experts feel it must be unconditionally supported by the present government in the budget.
“This is the single most important thing Kumaraswamy can do for Bengaluru, creating a special purpose vehicle. The Center has already committed Rs 17,000 crores and the state needs to put in Rs 4,000 crore to get started with this,” Alavilli said.
Namma metro
Alongside a high-speed rail network in the state and city, the Government must also fast-track Namma Metro’s phase III and the line to the airport. “The Government must lay out realistic timelines for Namma Metro phase II completion along with required funds allocation,” said railways expert Sanjeev Dyamannavar. With the present phase II construction of Namma Metro creating havoc with traffic in areas like Whitefield, early completion of construction is a top priority for several residents. “The Government must ensure that the deadlines are met,” said Arpita Kayal, a resident of Brookefield.
Make cycling safe
While the previous state government announced the launch of the popular ‘Trin-trin’ shared bicycle system in the city at a cost of Rs 80.19 crores, many regular cyclists say lot more that needs to be done to make the city bicycle-friendly. “We need high-quality infrastructure for walking and cycling as well as for the BMTC and shared mobility in the city to decongest the roads,” said Professor Ashish Verma of the Indian Institute of Science. “Cyclists need to feel safer on the roads. Unless projects such as separate cycle lanes are taken up or the traffic police start cracking down on rule breakers, no amount of shared bicycles will work in encouraging people to cycle around the city,” said Aditya Singh, a cyclist.
Get more traffic cops
According to several people who brave a daily commute of several hours to get to work and back, the Government needs to urgently recruit more traffic policemen. The traffic police has only around 3,500 policemen responsible for over 70 lakh vehicles. They also suggest penalising those who choose to travel alone in cars. “Parking charges can be increased once space is provided for vehicles. Congestion charges must also be introduced for those who do not car-pool or use public transport,” suggested Abhay Kaushik, who works in Manyatha Tech Park. “The Government could also offer paid parking to generate revenue,” suggested Sanjeev Dyamannavar.
MV Tax waiver, cut in power charges for electric buses
The Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation (BMTC) is hoping that a slew of measures are introduced in the State budget on Thursday to stabilise its sinking financial position. A senior BMTC official said the Corporation was banking heavily on two of its proposed requests. “The waiver of the annual Motor Vehicles Tax as was done last year and a fuel cess of D1 on every litre of diesel filled in the City will help us recover over D200 crore,” he said. The official said that free bus passes for students up to the college level is expected to be announced in the new government’s budget too. As of now, present students up to Class 7 can travel free while girl students up to Class 10 get them free, he said. BMTC is hoping for some concession to be provided on the power consumed by the 80 electric buses which are being purchased, he added.