Deccan Herald 01.08.2013
Rs 17,802 cr spent on City roads in 10 yrs
Going by the poor condition of roads in the
City, one would feel the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) spent
very little money on maintaining them. But here’s the catch, the Palike
claims it spent as much as Rs 17,802 crore on roads in the last ten
years!
And, the sum is half of what the Kerala government spent in that state.
The
astonishing revelation was made by Yediyur corporator N R Ramesh at
the BBMP council meeting on Wednesday. According to him, most of the
money was spent in the core area of City, having the maximum number of
potholes at present. The sum was spent between April 1, 2003 and March
31, 2013.
31, 2007 when there was only Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP)
comprising three east, west and south zones, Rs 6,460.76 crore was
spent.
After the municipal corporation got the ‘Bruhat’ tag, the
total expenditure on roads was Rs 8,799 crore. Out of this amount, the
Palike spent Rs 2,540.54 crore on roads between April 1, 2010 and March
31, 2013.
The total length of roads in Kerala and Karnataka,
excluding Bangalore, is 3,70,000 km. The two states, Ramesh said, spent a
total of Rs 15,000 crore on asphalting and maintenance of roads. “The
money spent by the BBMP on the City’s road should be listed as the
eighth wonder of the world,” he said, sarcastically.
He squarely
blamed former Additional Commissioner V P Ikkeri, former
engineer-in-chief B T Ramesh and former chief engineer of the BBMP
Chikkarayappa for “overspending” on roads. He demanded a thorough
inquiry into what is seen by many as a road scam.
Ramesh said
that recently a road contractor submitted bills of the money spent in
Anekal taluk! (which is outside the BBMP limits) He also emphasised on
the GIS-based Road History Register to keep tabs on embezzlement in the
name of asphalting road.
The Leader of Opposition, M K
Gunashekar (Congress), highlighted the gross violation of National
Building Code, which might invite major accidents similar to the Kolkata
fire mishap.
“Commercial buildings and hospitals should have
parking lot in the basement. Ignoring it is against the Town Planning
Rule. The fire brigade also had objected to building plan violations in
many structures,” said Gunashekar.
Taking part in the
discussion, JD(S) Floor Leader R Prakash demanded the proper utilisation
of the mechanical sweeping machines in the City.
Budget approved
Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy approved the BBMP budget with an outlay of Rs 8,521.1 crore, which is an increase of Rs 54 lakh.
After
deliberating on the budget for three days, the ruling BJP in the
council passed it. The changes in the grants and certain works were made
following suggestions by corporators during the discussion. Previously,
the size of the budget was Rs 8,520.56 crore, which was revised.
Before
the budget was passed, the BBMP commissioner replied to the suggestions
and objections raised by corporators. However, the Congress corporators
were not satisfied with the reply and staged a walkout.
