Deccan Herald 03.09.2013
Govt plans Rs 2,100 cr push to develop 8 towns around B’lore
The Karnataka government is drawing up a Rs
2,100 crore project with loan assistance from Asian Development Bank, to
develop and upgrade eight city clusters around Bangalore to woo
investment and ease the load on the State capital.
The
city clusters proposed to be developed are Nelamangala, Magadi, Anekal,
Bidadi, Dabaspet, Harohalli, Devanahalli and Hoskote, Urban Development
Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake told reporters here.
Officials said
the objective is to attract investment in those clusters by developing
and upgrading them and “dispersing Bangalore investment” into these
areas.
Phase-I of the Rs 8,759-crore suburban rail system for Bangalore
comprising five corridors, including from the city to Tumkur, Ramanagara
and Bangarpet, would be completed “very soon”.
Officials said a
Special Purpose Vehicle — Bangalore Suburban Rail Corporation — would
be set up for implementing the project which is expected to ease
congestion in the city.
Sorake said a Cabinet note has been
prepared to upgrade city municipal councils of Tumkur, Shimoga and
Bijapura to city corporations.
The Minister said during the
transition phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JnNURM), 61 projects with estimated cost of Rs 5,265.22 crore have been
forwarded for approval to the Union Ministry of Urban Development,
adding, Rs 168 crore of them had already been approved.
“Seventeen
water supply projects with estimated cost of Rs 711.92 crore have been
submitted to the Central government under UIDSSMT (Urban Infrastructure
Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns)”, Sorake said.
He
said a Rs 1,760 crore project has been prepared to provide 24X7 water
supply to the entire corporation area of Belgaum, Gulbarga and
Hubli-Dharwad cities on PPP basis with World Bank assistance.
Sorake
also said a project is under preparation for state-level heritage-based
urban development programme for Karnataka with World Bank assistance.
He said a master plan would be prepared in phases to project requirements of cities of Karnataka in the year 2040.
Workshops
would be conducted for corporators of at the city and state-levels,
Sorake said, adding, ward committees and citizen foras would be set up
to create awareness among the people on funding in their areas and to
monitor quality of works undertaken there.