Mayor questions road development under IT/BT project

Mayor questions road development under IT/BT project
The Hindu

Halts upgradation of a road under the project

# Dharam Singh Government had directed the BMP to upgrade 19 roads under fast track project
# Work on some roads entrusted to the Karnataka Land Army Corporation
# Mayor to inspect all roads identified under the project from Wednesday

BANGALORE: Most roads leading to the information technology/bio-technology (IT/BT) corridor are well laid. One look and you would think so. Mayor Mumtaz Begum made it official on Tuesday by halting upgradation work on one such road and raising questions about the need to develop other roads identified under the project.

After an inspection of some roads entrusted to the Karnataka Land Army Corporation (KLAC) for upgradation under the IT/BT Fast Track project, the Mayor told presspersons on Tuesday that these roads do not need any upgradation.

"The surface of Indiranagar 80-foot road and Commissiorate Road is very good and does not need any upgradation. I could not spot a single pothole on these stretches. It is a national waste to spend crores of rupees on good roads when we have so many bad roads in the city that need priority," the Mayor said. She directed the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) officials to stop work on these roads immediately.

Inspection

Ms. Begum, who walked along the Indiranagar 80 Feet Road and Commissiorate Road, questioned BMP Chief Engineer (Projects) A.M. Ranganath as to why roads in good condition are being developed again. "Why are you wasting the tax-payers' money on good roads when there are other priorities. We cannot afford to spend crores on these good stretches just because they lead to the IT/BT corridor," she said.

Mr. Ranganath expressed helplessness and said the project is being executed as per the directions of the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure set up by the State Government.

Following complaints from IT/BT industries about poor infrastructure in the city, the previous Dharam Singh Government had directed the civic body to upgrade 19 roads under the fast track project. It had even exempted the project from the provisions of the Karnataka Transparency Act so that the BMP could entrust the project to KLAC without calling tenders.

The Mayor said she will inspect all the 19 roads identified under the project from Wednesday and then write to BMP Commissioner K Jothiramalingam asking him to stop such "unnecessary road works."

"I will also bring this to the notice of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and request him to inspect the roads and then decide whether the IT/BT fast track project should continue," she said.

The Mayor's doubts about the necessity of the IT/BT project came barely a week after Mr. Jothiramalingam's inspection of the same stretches. The Commissioner, who had expressed satisfaction on the progress and quality of work, had announced that the encroachments on pavements that have already been developed under the fast track project will be cleared soon.

Lack of coordination

Sources in the BMP told The Hindu that there is no coordination between the elected representatives and the officials in the BMP.

"The Mayor had not accompanied the BMP Commissioner during his inspection last week and the Commissioner did not join the Mayor's team on Tuesday. This shows there is no coordination between the two wings of the civic body," the sources added.