CM moots single civic authority

CM moots single civic authority

The Times of India

Bangalore: Taking a cue from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s indication of Union budget packages for urban development, chief minister N. Dharam Singh on Sunday said he had mooted a proposal for a Bangalore Metropolitan Authority (BMA).

Singh told reporters here: “At an one-to-one meeting with the PM, I told him that Bangalore should have an overall metropolitan authority, including the BWSSB, the power company, BDA and so on to ensure proper development, along the lines of what Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad have.’’

The authority set up in Delhi is under the Centre’s direct control, outside the purview of the local city-state government.

A similar arrangement for Bangalore would share the infrastructure burden with the Centre, sources said. Sometime back, chief mentor of Infosys Technologies N.R. Narayana Murthy had suggested that Bangalore’s administration should come directly under the Centre.