Date:29/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/07/29/stories/2005072909800500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Bring BMP under purview of accounts committee'

Special Correspondent

Such a step will ensure that funds are properly utilised, says BJP member

BANGALORE: The BJP member, Ashok, on Thursday demanded that the Government should bring the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) under the purview of the Public Accounts Committee, if it was interested in ensuring that the funds were properly utilised.

Participating in the discussion on the demands of various departments in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Ashok said that in the last five years, the BMP had spent Rs. 3,200 crores without any visible development of the city to that effect. Listing out the various flyover projects which have remained incomplete, he charged that rampant corruption in the BMP had been the cause of the city's infrastructure woes.

Mr. Ashok said that the BMP spent Rs. 25 crores annually on garbage collection and that the contract remained with a group of contractors without going through the tender process.

Similarly, for maintenance of streetlights, the BMP spent Rs. 50 crores a year and the process of awarding contracts lacked transparency.

The Government should integrate the seven city municipal corporations abutting Bangalore to make it part of a "Greater Bangalore" and work out a blueprint for planned growth. Currently, the CMCs, strapped for funds, had stopped all developmental activity.

Kumar Bangarappa (Congress) suggested to the Government to provide solar lighting system to Ashraya houses to avoid recurring expenditure.

Vaijanath Patil (JD-S) said the Government had to be more demanding with the Centre in the case of irrigation projects.

Pointing out that Karnataka's interests had suffered in the Cauvery and Krishna irrigation projects, he said Andhra Pradesh continued to utilise more waters than allocated to it under the Bachawat Tribunal.