State govt moots Greater Bangalore

State govt moots Greater Bangalore
CMCs To Come Under City Governance
The Times of India

Bangalore: The state government is considering a proposal for a Greater Bangalore along the lines of Greater Mumbai, by including the seven city municipal councils (CMCs) within the city’s administrative area.

Replying to K.C. Kondaiah (Cong) on behalf of chief minister N. Dharam Singh, revenue minister M.P. Prakash said in the council on Thursday that at present, the issue is just at the proposal stage. “But the government is reviewing it. Administratively, it will be a good option,’’ he said.

Underlining the emphasis on Bangalore infrastructure, the chief minister, in his reply, outlined the amount of money released for the purpose. Under the Mega City Project, Bangalore has got Rs 36.92 crore in 2003-04, and Rs 5.64 crore in 2004-05 for infrastructure development.

Besides, under an MoU with the Bangalore City Corporation, the state government released Rs 24.13 crore in 2003-04, Rs 23 crore in 2004-05. In addition, under the state finance commission, the city got Rs 51.44 crore in 2003-04, Rs 67.33 crore in 2004-05 and Rs 14.87 crore in 2005-06.
In contrast, revenue from Bangalore in stamp duty and registration collection has dropped from Rs 50 crore to Rs 8 cr due to relaxations, he said. Crime rate: Prakash told K.B. Munivenkatareddy (Cong) that there had been seven cases of thefts against IT professionals travelling in the night in the last one month.

“Of these, one has been solved. In a city of 65-lakh population, the percentage of such crimes is not very high. Bangalore, in fact, compares more favourably than any other metro in the night crime rate,’’ he said.