Deccan Herald             26.06.2013

Palike to lift restriction on ongoing, urgent works

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
on Tuesday announced the lifting of the restriction on works worth Rs
532 crore, which were stalled when the model code of conduct was in
place for the Assembly elections.

The works were in
various stages of execution when they were frozen. This follows the
demand by corporators that urgent works in the City should be given the
go-ahead.
Palike Commissioner M Lakshminarayana announced the lifting of the restriction at the Council meeting on Tuesday.

Lakshminarayana
assured the House that urgent works, related to flood relief in the
City, could be undertaken forthwith, while those yet to begin could be
looked into once the pre-audit on their necessity was conducted and
government approval secured.

Stormwater drains

Leader
of the Opposition in the Council, M K Gunashekar, demanded a probe into
the misappropriation of funds in the stormwater drain project and
action against the accused officers.

Lakshminarayana said he had a
discussion with all the officers and they have been asked to submit
replies. A report will be sent to the BBMP Council, he assured, while
admitting to delays in executing the work due to litigations.

Help centres to be shut

The
Palike will close down its help centres in view of the alleged
squandering of property tax money by some tax inspectors in the City.

There
are about 280 help centres, of which 64 will be closed down now, while
the remaining will be shut down in a phased manner. Lakshminarayana told
the meeting that citizens were not required to fill the Self Assessment
Scheme forms every year, unless there was change in the building or
revision of tax.

The BBMP will tie up with banks to allow payment
of property taxes through them. Along with it, online tax payment
mechanism will be strengthened. He said the Palike will stop property
tax collection through cheques and collect the same through demand
drafts and Indian Postal Orders.