Rs 500 crores may come to city

Rs 500 crores may come to city
The Asian Age

Bangalore, June 2: The Centre is considering giving Rs 500 crores to the city to improve its infrastructural facilities, Union minister for telecommunications, Dayanidhi Maran said on Friday.

"After I had written a letter to the Prime Minister, the Centre has been pursuing the idea. Now, your chief minister is also following it up with the Centre. The Centre will see to it that the city maintains its status," Mr Maran explained.

Mr Maran, in his letter to Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, urged the Centre to give Rs 500 crores to the city to construct 50 flyovers and other facilities.

Chief minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, during his presidential address, once again underlined his government’s commitment to improve the city’s infrastructure. "The chief secretary has been reviewing the progress of infrastructural projects particularly in and around the city on a regular basis. I assure you that the government will continue to take care of the infrastructure of the city on a priority basis," he clarified.

Mr Kumaraswamy continued his campaign to woo IT captains to opt for secondary cities. Appreciating the response to the Destination Hubli summit organised on May 20, the chief minister said the right initiative by the government and voluntary steps by the industry captains can help develop the tier-II cities in the state. He said, "Earth stations will be set up at Gulbarga and Belgaum and incubation centres are also being planned for Mysore and Gulbarga."

He announced the government’s intention to set up more special economic zones in other tier-II cities in the state. He assured the IT bigwigs present there that he would separately discuss the issue of improving the air-connectivity and other logistical support to these cities.