Date:06/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/06/stories/2007050607090100.htm

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BBMPA on the anvil to meet infrastructure needs of Bangalore

Staff Reporter

The Chief Minister vents his ire over official apathy

Foundation stone laid for Tagore Circle underpass

Houses for poor on 800 acres of land in Bangalore

TO EASE CONGESTION: K. Chandrashekar, MLA, showing the underpass plan to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Minister for Health R. Ashok at a function to lay the foundation stone for the facility at Tagore Circle in Bangalore on Saturday. — P hoto: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The Government is planning to set up Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Authority (BBMPA) to meet the city's growing needs of infrastructure, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said here on Saturday.

Mr. Kumaraswamy, who laid the foundation stone for an underpass from Tagore Circle in Gandhi Bazaar to R.V. Teachers' College Circle, a project of the BBMP, said that the palike should ensure that contractors finished the work on this project within 80 days.

Harsh words

Mr. Kumaraswamy had a few harsh words for officials who were dawdling over the completion of many infrastructure projects and development works.

"I will not tolerate anyone playing golf on Government time," he said.

The Chief Minister has vented his ire over official apathy on several occasions.

Land

He said that the Government had set aside 800 acres of the recovered land that had been encroached upon in and around Bangalore to construct houses for the poor. The land had been handed over to the Bangalore Development Authority.

Houses

About 20 per cent of the two lakh houses to be constructed in the near future would be allotted to the poor and houseless, the Chief Minister said.

About 5,000 houses would be constructed in the next 18 months, he said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy urged the legislators from Bangalore to ensure that the beneficiaries got title deeds of the houses allotted to them at the earliest.

He said that flyovers and bridges were not a solution to congestion on roads owing to the increasing number of vehicles in the city and there should be integration of various solutions to overcome this problem.

Health and Family Welfare Minister R. Ashok. Palike Commissioner K. Jairaj and other officials were present on the occasion.

Night shift

Mr. Kumaraswamy told presspersons later that he would soon convene a high-level meeting of officials to discuss the move to ban night shift for women employees since the issue had generated a great deal of debate.

More powers

There would be no going back on granting more powers and autonomy to the Lokayukta, Mr. Kumaraswamy said and promised action against the ministers and legislators who did not file their affidavit of assets and liabilities before the Lokayukta.