CM devotes some time to city infrastructure

Fresh tenders for Arkavathi Layout work
The Hindu

BANGALORE, AUG. 17. The State Government today decided to invite fresh tenders for the execution of works in the proposed Arkavathi Layout. It has also decided to allot residential sites in the layout from January 15.

The decisions were announced by the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, after a surprise visit to the offices of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). He held a meeting with the BDA officials.

Mr. Deve Gowda had in a letter to Mr. Dharam Singh alleged that contracts for execution of civil works in the layout had been awarded at inflated rates.

Addressing presspersons, the Chief Minister said he would lay the foundation in September for the commencement of the work connected with the layout. The BDA had decided to form 20,000 sites on 2,750 acres of land. It had received 2.7 lakh applications and deposits totalling Rs. 920 crores. The BDA would refund about Rs. 700 crores to 2.5 lakh applicants who had not been allotted sites.

He said the Government would invite fresh tenders in October for the execution of works in the layout. It was against awarding piece-contract works as they would push up the costs. Works would be assigned in such a way that they would cover the entire layout. He had instructed the BDA officials to commence works after obtaining approval for plans from the town planning authorities.

Housing project

The Government had decided to develop a layout having 50,000 residential sites on 2,000 acres of land. The BDA would execute the project and the work would start in December 2004. Sites would be allotted to applicants by July 2005.

"It is an ambitious project of the Government and [it will be] the largest housing colony in the country," the Chief Minister said. However, he refused to divulge the location of the project. It would be an eco-friendly project .The Government had also decided to form another layout with 500 sites exclusively for MPs from the State, MLAs and MLCs. The land for the layout was yet to be identified.

Flyovers

The Chief Minister said that the flyover coming up near Bangalore Dairy Circle would be completed by September.

About other flyovers works at BTM Layout Junction and Domlur, he said the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation, which was executing the works, had asked the Government to release more funds in the wake of escalation of steel prices from Rs 12,000 to Rs. 31,000 a tonne. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, had written to him about escalation in the project cost.