PIE IN THE SKY?

LOOKING BEYOND VISION BANGALORE, FOCUS SHARPENS ON INFRASTRUCTURE
PIE IN THE SKY?
Endless talk and tomes of study papers. On something that affects us every day — better roads, traffic decongestion, new flyovers... Haven’t we heard of such projects being planned time and again?
The Times of India

What does it take for Bangalore to rid itself of the bad road-choked traffic juggernaut it has been in, some five years from now?

People in the government have a ready solution on paper — 20 new flyovers and 18 more multi-level car parks, widening of over 45 roads to accommodate the 1,000 vehicles that get added every day, increasing the number of specialised buses, mass transport, et al.

Where have Bangaloreans heard this before? Six years ago, when the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) designed the Bangalore Infrastructure Plan, a vision document and action plan for the city, to be implemented in 2000-2005. The plan was prepared by the then BMP commissioner K Jairaj, which was presented to the state government. What happened after that?

Programmes like road widening, multi-level car parks and revamping marketplaces, as also remodelling crowded places like Kalasipalyam bus stand, were envisioned as far as in 2001, with implementation deadlines of 2002!
The 2000-2005 plan in a nutshell

Vision: Holistic and integrated approach to development; benchmark international urban successes and growth parameters; create distinct “Bangalore identity’’; attain international standards in public health and sanitation. Key features: Roads and traffic corridors; markets; area development programmes; parking; hygienic infrastructure; communication and capacity building. Projects envisaged, deadlines: 27 flyovers and underpasses all along the north-south, western, eastern, south-eastern corridors. Deadline: all by June 2004. Five RoBs, RuBs at Lingarajpuram, Banaswadi, Nehru Circle, ITC Factory and Frazer Town, to be completed by March 2002. Surface parking, off-street parking, conservancy parking by December 2000, Six multi-storied parking complexes by December 2003. 700 bus shelters, bus bays, bus-terminals by April 2002. Construction and upgradation of seven markets by October 2004. Development of lakes, parks, stadia, convention halls by December 2003. Cost: Estimated for infrastructure creation — Rs 1,130 crore; financial source: borrowings of Rs 730 crore, internal accruals Rs 300 crore and joint venture/build operate transfer Rs 100 crore.

This is not all. The BMP budget for 2004-05 with an outlay of Rs 1,285 crore, mooted a masterplan which listed out projects to be implemented over the next three years at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. This was under a new banner — Future City Projects.

The kitty comprised 1,000 km of roads to be asphalted at Rs 112 crore; flyovers and grade separators on Mysore Road-Chord Road junction, Minerva Circle, South End Circle, Yeshwantpur Circle and Cauvery junction for which allocation of Rs 120 crore was made; 50 pedestrian subways and footover bridges at a cost of Rs 80 crore; automated multi-level car parking complexes at six places at Rs 20 crore.

The coincidence is that the same commissioner who envisioned these is back in charge of BMP, and of course, the same plans hold good now.

Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, in charge of Bangalore’s development, is doing his bit too: “I am personally supervising the completion of flyovers at Ramamurthynagar and the underpass at Vijayanagar-Magadi Road. SJP Road has been in bad shape ever since the heavy rain of 2005; concrete work is nearing completion.’’

VISION BANGALORE

What Bangalore needs as per international
civic norms
Citizens have prioritised 16 services for improvement and implementation, as per a survey conducted by Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has a tie-up with the BMP for dissemination of technical inputs. Services in high priority category are: Roads, pavements, property assessment, community toilets, solid waste disposal, parks, food safety, traffic management, surface drainage, solid waste education, street lighting, city beautification, pedestrian safety, parking, outdoor dental and medical clinics and removal of dead animals.

However, to get global status, any city should adhere to international civic norms — 95 services as listed by the ADB.

The important ones are: maintenance of family records, meat inspection service, laundry, sewerage collection, processing units, employment of children, internet service for students, supplier registration, personnel records, staff appraisals, prompt settlement of supplier bills, elimination of rate arrears and reduction in sundry debtors.

MONEY MATTERS
A whopping sum of Rs 5,200 crore is needed to develop infrastructure in Bangalore, according to an estimate drawn up by the government. The big-budget projects identified are:

New Peripheral Ring Road connecting 12 National Highway radials and other road-upgrading works Rs 1,250 Flyovers and underpasses Rs 450 Dedicated bus lanes Rs 100 Comprehensive drainage system to prevent frequent flooding Rs 600 Solid waste management Rs 300 Development of infrastructure in eight CMCs and TMC Rs 1,000 Augmentation of water supply and sewerage system Rs 1,000 Slum improvement Rs 500

MY VISION

BMP commissioner K Jairaj outlines his plans
There are five things I am keen on: Rejuvenation of old areas like Cottonpet, Chickpet, Avenue Road and parts of south Bangalore. Modernisation of Malleswaram market, Johnson Market, Seshadripuram market. Roadwidening, proposed in 2001, has a concrete deadline of December 2006. Twelve roads are being done on priority basis of the 45 roads in the first phase. The other things are sanitation and garbage management.