BMP's priorities wrong, says BJP

BMP's priorities wrong, says BJP

The Hindu

`The civic body is giving more attention to parks than to roads'


BANGALORE: The Bangalore city unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has criticised the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) for giving more attention to the development of parks and gardens instead of getting damaged roads repaired.

The BJP alleged that the BMP was sanctioning money for park works that had already been completed or for works that were unnecessary.

Leaders of the party made these charges after going round some of the gardens in the Gandhinagar Assembly constituency, where works to the tune of Rs. 1.68 crore are to be carried out.

"The money allocated is mostly for works that were carried out last year," said S. Prakash, spokesman for the Bangalore city unit of the BJP.

He sought an inquiry into the works undertaken by the Horticulture Department in the past two years.

Taking the case of Nehru Park at Seshadripuram, Mr. Prakash said that work on developing the park was taken up two years ago. "In the name of development the park has been made unusable. The Standing Committee on Horticulture has proposed Rs. 10 lakhs for fencing when the barbed wire fence is still good. It has also proposed Rs. 12 lakhs for landscaping.

"Moreover, there has been no work for the past eight months," he said.

Mr. Prakash alleged that the standing committee had chosen a small area at Nehru Nagar and a playground on Risaldar Street for developing gardens.

A sum of Rs. 4 lakhs had been allocated for developing an area full of shrubs at Nehru Nagar.

"This park, which has no gate, is not used by residents. Here also, the standing committee is spending money unnecessarily for fencing," Mr. Prakash charged. In the case of Risaldar Street, Mr. Prakash said the committee had planned to use Rs. 18 lakhs for landscaping, fencing and developing the pathway.

"But here too the barbed wire fence is good and so are the pathways," he said.

Mr. Prakash said the common works under the development of parks were landscaping and fencing.

A sum of Rs. 38 lakhs had been earmarked for landscaping in the Gandhinagar ward for 2005-06. "Money is being spent on the same work every year," he said.

Mr. Prakash said the committee had earmarked Rs. 21 lakhs for development of Bashyam Park, which was being maintained by Mantri Developers.