Bad roads, BMP make CM furious

Bad roads, BMP make CM furious
Will Be Last Meeting If You Don’t Act, Officials Warned
The Times of India

Bangalore: Chief minister N Dharam Singh was extremely angry on Tuesday. And it took him a while to calm down. And what angered him? The bad roads and the BMP.

In fact the CM was so furious that he offered to take the urban development secretary, BMP and BDA commissioners to Hyderabad to study the well-laid roads.

“I will take all three of you to Hyderabad. When it can happen in Hyderabad, why can’t it happen in Bangalore? What is ailing the road works? November and December months have come and gone, now we are in mid-January, but roads are still bad. Is it fund crunch, or is it the contractors’ syndicate which is the major hitch? Or are we interfering in your work,’’ Singh lashed out at the BMP officials.

Singh’s only agenda was the city roads. “I have not come here for your presentation. My only concern is roads. Cancel contracts if contractors are not working. I want an explanation. This will be my last meeting if you don’t act,’’ CM thundered.

The CM didn’t spare BWSSB officials either. He said the civil works being carried out in the CMCs under Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage project are shoddy, and that he has been receiving a lot of complaints.
The meeting saw them suggesting that road works and other developmental projects be handed over to well-known firms instead of local contractors. They also said BMP works be exempted from the Transparency Act to ensure speedy implementation.

“Due to red tape, files get shifted from table to table in BMP. Instead, simplify the procedure for speedy implementation of works,’’ the MLAs said. The meeting was called as at the recent cabinet meeting, ministers complained about bad roads and blamed the contractors for shoddy work.

Yet another deadline: From January-end to March. And now, the latest deadline to spruce up the city roads is July-end. Public Works Department will join hands with BMP to regrade four highway roads that criss-cross Bangalore, including Bannerghatta Road