The Hindu 11.12.2013
Of BBMP projects put on hold, some may be revived
Such works will be selected by chief engineers following discussions with councillors and inspections
Some of the 1,970 projects worth Rs.
522 crore that have been put on hold and were deemed unnecessary by the
Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC) may soon be taken
up. Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana on Tuesday said that works deemed
necessary would be taken up on priority basis.
After a
review of the south zone of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP),
he said that he had already discussed the issue with city in-charge and
Transport Minister B Ramalinga Reddy, who had assured him of getting
some funds from the government.
Echoing this, Mr.
Reddy said that only important works would be taken up. He directed BBMP
officials to prepare a list of important works and submit the same by
Saturday. “The chief engineers must discuss with councillors, conduct
inspections and prioritise the works that are necessary. The list of
these works should be submitted along with the road history. Unnecessary
works will not be taken up,” he said.
It may be
recalled that TVCC has been directed to review the works put on hold. Of
the 1,970 projects, the cell has reviewed 695 works. Of these, it found
that only two projects are necessary. The estimates of 559 projects
were inflated while 74 had to be scrapped, it found.
But due to pressure from councillors and MLAs, there are concerted efforts to resurrect all the projects.
On radar
Later,
Mr. Reddy directed BBMP officials to take up revalidation of the tax
paid on all commercial properties in all eight zones in the city and
complete the process by January 15. This, he said, would help bring in
more revenue to the BBMP.
Concurring with Mr.
Sathyanarayana, he instructed BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan to
enlist the help of college students and voluntary organisations to
complete the process. Earlier, Mr. Lakshminarayan said that the property
tax collected so far is around Rs. 204 crore.
