BMP's concrete road plan yet to take shape

BMP's concrete road plan yet to take shape

The Hindu

Corporators are worried that they may not get the credit for implementing the idea

# BMP had decided seven months ago to build concrete roads across the city
# The civic body had planned to use 50 per cent of the annual ward grants to build concrete roads
# Over 25 km of roads in each zone to be cemented this year

BANGALORE: Seven months after the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) decided to build concrete roads across the city in a phased manner, the proposal still remains on paper.

Fed up with frequent complaints about bad roads, the civic body had planned to use 50 per cent of the annual ward grants (from this year onwards) to build concrete roads. It was also announced in the BMP budget for 2006-2007.

Like several other proposals, this one too is lost in the bureaucratic muddle in the BMP. With the term of the present BMP Council ending in the next two months, corporators from all parties are doubtful whether the proposal is really "concrete."

This decision was also taken to avoid the BMP being "blackmailed" by asphalt contractors, who had boycotted the road tenders floated by the civic body under the second package of the "Complete Blacktop" asphalting project last year.

While top BMP officials said that the proposal was being finalised and tenders for the works would be called soon, several corporators including members of the ruling Congress in the BMP are worried that they may not get the credit of implementing the novel idea.

"We want Commissioner K Jairaj to ensure that this proposal is implemented at the earliest. What is the use if work starts after our term ends. We will discuss and demand the speedy implementation of this proposal at the Council meeting on Wednesday," ruling party leader H. Ravindra said.

Though the allocation for ward grants was increased from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 1.5 crore this time, it was reduced to Rs. 1 crore after the State Government approved the budget. During the presentation of the budget, the then Commissioner K. Jothiramalingam had requested the corporators to use a major chunk of the ward grants on concrete roads in their wards.

According to a top official in BMP's Engineering Wing, over 25 km of roads in each zone would be cemented this year. "We have requested a few experts in civil engineering to conduct a survey and submit a report on the roads that need to be cemented.

The report is ready and based on it we have decided to initially take up roads that are four metres wide for cementing," the official said.

Narrow roads in slums and low-lying areas, where people cook and wash have to be cemented because the asphalt mix on such roads gets washed away soon.

A three-km stretch in Kalasipalyam and an 800-metre stretch on the Silver Jubilee Park Road have been cemented, the official added.