No funds, no infrastructure

No funds, no infrastructure FACT AND FICTION
The Times of India

Bangalore: For a population of over 90,000 in Yelahanka, the budget allocated by the CMC is a meagre Rs 9 crore. But the pending bills have touched Rs 13 crore! To maintain 123-km road network, the money spent is just Rs 10 lakh. While the CMC spends over Rs 70 lakh on clearing garbage, the area still stinks with garbage strewn all around the place.

Like any other CMC, this poor cousin of the BMP too lacks infrastructure and funds. A majority of the areas in Yelahanka CMC are masked by the green belt area, the result of which the CMC has no hold over the properties situated here. Twenty-nine layouts have come up in the green belt area which are illegal and do not fetch any revenue to the CMC. As against a revenue target of Rs 6 crore last year, the authorities could only mop up Rs 3 crore from property taxes.

“There are no funds in CMC. With whatever we collect through property tax, we carry out works. We are hoping that this year

the CMC will get some grants from the government. The CMC was given Rs 1 crore to implement drains and other flood-related projects,’’ explained Yelahanka CMC commissioner Mohammed Kalim Ullah.
During monsoon, Yelahanka New Town, Chikkabommasandra, Surabhi and Vinayaka layouts were flooded, prompting the authorities to chalk out flood damage works.

In all, 719 metres of storm water drains are constructed at a cost of Rs 34.5 lakh; 1,680 metres of roads are improved spending Rs 6.1 lakh; 15,717 metres of drains are desilted and 2,995 metres of roads have been taken up for resurfacing, said Kalim Ullah.

This apart, Yelahanka is crying for infrastructure. A classic example is the long stretch of double road that connects Yeshwantpur to Doddaballapur which has been neglected for 20 years. According to CMC president Ramesh, every single rupee spent on development is utilised from the taxes collected. The money is spent on new roads and repairing existing roads, digging borewells and repairing water leakages.

Garbage collection is another grey spot. The CMC has plans to start a door-to-door garbage collection by charging a nominal fee of Rs 15 per month. “We listed complaints during an adalat — pathetic condition of roads, cleaning up parks which have become garbage dumps and the need for bus shelters. The CMC promised response in 10 days. It is almost a month since the adalat, and there has been no action,’’ said Arun Sharma, a member of the Yelahanka Citizen Forum. The railway crossing at Allalasandra is another thorny issue. Thanks to the narrow corridor, traffic build-up takes up to 30 minutes to clear up at the crossing.

BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR ’06-07
l Rs 21 crore, of which Rs 11 crore to be paid towards pending work bills and Rs 2 crore towards power bills l Revenue target: Rs 9 crore l Garbage clearance: s 77 lakh l Road maintenance: Rs 10 lakh