BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is ready to play Santa to Bengaluru, his goodie bag full of promises — from Bengaluru Vision 2022 to parks and flyovers — to build a snazzy city. He will launch a number of works and initiatives for Bengaluru virtually from the Vidhana Soudha, sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said. These could be part of the State government’s preparations for the BBMP elections, and the first step towards this would be the release of Bengaluru Vision 2022. The government, though, is trying to get the urban body elections postponed, and has approached the Supreme Court.
As per experts’ recommendations, a blueprint is ready for the overall development of the city. This includes developing the 20-acre Mysuru Lamps property in West Bengaluru into a tree park, similar to Lalbagh or Cubbon Park. With these two large lung spaces located in South and East Bengaluru, the thinking is that West Bengaluru needs a similar carbon sink.
Yediyurappa will also lay the foundation for beautification of SWDs, and construction of twin towers with 24 floors to house government offices under one umbrella near Anand Rao flyover. There is also a proposal to connect a flyover or bridge with a park on either side of these buildings to Vidhana Soudha, for better administration. The CM is also expected to make announcements for roads and traffic.
Soon after his government turned 100 days, Yediyurappa had said he would change the face of Bengaluru, but with the Covid lockdown, things came to a standstill. But when the BBMP term came to an end in September, and in the absence of a Council, an administrator was appointed. Simultaneously, the government began making preparations to bring a separate BBMP Bill for Bengaluru and increase the number of wards to 243.
However, after a former Congress councillor went to High Court questioning the delay in BBMP elections, the court directed the State Election Commission to hold elections within six weeks of issuing the reservation notification. The government recently passed the BBMP Bill, and based on it, has approached the Supreme Court, appealing for more time.