The New Indian Express             26.06.2013

There is also a plan to interlink all the water bodies by clearing canals that are currently encroached.

In an effort to save Bangalore’s few remaining water bodies, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is planning an ambitious Rs 6,500-crore lake interlinking and sewage clearing project.

Pollution is the first target with plans to stop sewage from flowing into the water bodies. There is also a plan to interlink all the water bodies by clearing canals that are currently encroached. This will facilitate ground water recharge, conserve water and provide 500 million litres more per day to the water deficient city.

It is said to be the first such project in the country. Bangalore-in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy told Express, “In the past, when lakes overflowed, water would go from one to the other. All lakes were interconnected. But now, the canals that used to facilitate the overflowing lake water are lost. We are conducting a survey to trace these canals and to reconnect the lakes.’’

Reddy said 856 km of canals used to connect 56 lakes from Dasarahalli to Bommanahalli across the city. ‘’So far, surveyors have traced 138 km of canals. Once the survey is completed in another eight months, we will notify the encroachments and get them vacvated as soon as possible,’’ Reddy added.

The data on encroachments is to be digitised and put up on the BBMP website to ensure all stakeholders are given enough time before they are vacated.

Reddy said, once rejuvenated, these canals will act as feeders to the lakes, provide for percolation of ground water and prevent flooding in the city’s low-lying areas. Adequate precautions would be taken to ensure only clean water flows into these lakes.

“As we have to dig contour canals to divert and canalise the sewage that is flowing into these lakes, the project is estimated to cost around Rs 6,500 crore. BBMP engineers have proposed to undertake the project with funding from World Bank or JnNURM and have submitted a proposal in this regard. The project will be taken forward as soon as the government approves it,” he said.

The Hindu             26.06.2013

BBMP may launch frozen schemes

The 1,970 works worth Rs. 522 crore that were deemed unnecessary and frozen may soon be launched. Several councillors had objected to the decision to freeze these schemes.

On Tuesday, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan announced that these schemes may be taken up in two phases. This decision was taken after a meeting with district in-charge and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Monday.

Mr. Lakshminarayan said that in the first phase, flood prevention schemes and those for which work orders had been issued would be taken up. The remaining would be taken up after a pre-audit and verification under the second phase.

Mr. Lakshminarayan clarified that these schemes had not been scrapped, only frozen. He claimed that 22,800 schemes were in progress in the city. “If all the 1,970 schemes are taken up now without any pre-audit or verification, it will become difficult for the BBMP to monitor them,” he said.

Justifying the decision to conduct the pre-audit, he said the government had issued an order stating that all schemes worth over Rs. 5 lakh had to be subjected to pre-audit. “It is imperative that we follow the procedure laid down by the government. If the project is essential, there should not be any problem in taking it up,” he added.

He said that there was need to ascertain if the BBMP had the financial wherewithal to take up these additional schemes. The BBMP had pending bills amounting to Rs. 1,265 crore and the contractors were constantly demanding their dues.

Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy urged Mr. Lakshminarayan to use a uniform yardstick while conducting the pre-audit.

Earlier, Ruling Party Leader N. Nagaraju said that many schemes that were already taken up were in limbo, which was inconveniencing citizens. K. Gopalaiah, Mahalakshmi Layout MLA, sought to know why the BBMP had to freeze schemes taken up with government funds. Several BJP councillors, including Pattabhiramanagar councillor C.K. Ramamurthy and Rajajinagar councillor H.R. Krishnappa, objected to the pre-audit of the frozen schemes.

It may be recalled that during the previous council meeting, the councillors, cutting across party lines, objected to the BBMP’s decision to freeze 1,970 schemes. The Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC) had deemed these schemes, sanctioned under special grants from government, MLAs, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and 12 standing committees, unnecessary.