BCC plans 18 JVs, on the lookout for more

BCC plans 18 JVs, on the lookout for more
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: With the Government brushing aside the Bangalore City Corporation’s (BCC) demand to give back a larger share of the city’s tax contributions, the civic body is in a soup, finding it difficult to get out of the fiscal wilderness it is in. The Government cannot promote urban centres at the expense of the comprehensive development of the State, deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday, in defence of the Government’s stand.

The BCC has planned 18 more joint-ventures with private participation in order to turn its dead assets into profitable ventures without any investment.

BCC Commissioner K Jothiramalingam told this paper that past failures in the management of commercial assets was a major reason for going in for JVs.

"The JV projects on Magrath Road and K G Road have been successful in increasing non-tax revenue. We are planning over 18 more such projects in the city," he said.

The civic body, however, has different revenue models for different projects. The space-sharing pattern was in the ratio of 60:40 in the Magrath Road property while on K G Road it was 87:13 and for Gandhi Bazaar it was 50:50.

BCC Additional Commissioner P K Sreehari said no formula can hold for all projects. "The developer of the Magrath Road property was given 50 per cent of the parking space while the K G Road developer has not been given a share in the parking system. And hence the sharing pattern for commercial space too would vary," he explained.