BDA, BMP spell out new projects for 2007

BDA, BMP spell out new projects for 2007
As the year draws to an end, chiefs of two civic stakeholders of Bangalore, M K Shankaralinge Gowda (BDA) and K Jairaj (BMP) present the completed, ongoing and future projects for the city
The Times of India

Bangalore Development Authority
Completed projects: The Bangalore Development Authority during 2006, completed several flyover projects and road works. The Ananda Rao Circle flyover was completed at a cost of Rs 27.60 crores and opened for traffic in February. A c a s u a l t y block in the premises of Bowring-Lady Curzon Hospitalat a cost of Rs 9.80 crores was in June. The much awaited grade separator at Airport Road and IRR junction taken up at a cost of Rs 34.90 crores has been completed except for one loop and opened for traffic movement in July. The remaining loop is going to be completed shortly. The Grade Separator at Jayadeva Cardiology Hospital Junction was completed at a cost of Rs. 20.12 crores and opened for traffic in September.
Ongoing projects: Road improvement and underpasses projects are being carried out by the BDA in the city to decongest the traffic movement. Two new under passes have been taken up at busiest junctions of the city, one at ORR-Ramamurthynagar Junction and the other at the junction of Magadi Road-Chord Road. Lane bi-directional underpass project at ORR and Ramamurthynagar Junction commenced in June 2006. It is scheduled to be completed in June 2007.
Road Improvement work from HAL Corporate Office to Kundalahalli, a stretch of 5.8 km at a cost of Rs 22 crores is in progress. Roadwork has been completed and the ROB work is taken up at Marathhalli by the Railways. Both ROB and approach road works will be completed by January 2007.
BDA is executing Outer Ring Road work between Mysore Road-Magadi Road for a length of 5.7 km at a cost of Rs 92 crores. This road saves about 13 kms extra journey to commuters to reach Mysore Road from Magadi Road via Kengeri. The BDA is also developing some of the CMC Roads also at a cost of Rs 29.00 crores at Byatarayanapura and Bommanahalli, which will be completed by March 2007. In Arkavathy Layout so far 8,813 sites have been allotted by BDA and further allotments will be made depending on the availability of land.
Citezen centric measures: As a customer-centric measure in administration, total Computerisation and networking to bring in greater transparency, accountability in administration has been taken up at a cost of Rs 5.5 crores. 25 e-Pragati kiosks are being installed in strategic locations across the City with the idea of taking BDA services to customer's doorsteps.
Comprehensive, Informative and interactive website www.bdabangalore.org is providing day-today transactions to public.
Projects in the pipeline: The Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project of a length of 117 kms has been taken up by BDA at a cost of Rs 3,600 crores to enhance smooth flow of traffic in the peripheral areas. This will be a 100-mtr wide eight-lane road including service roads on either side.
Hi-tech city corridor connecting ORR to Electronic city of 8.5 kms has been taken up to help IT and BT industry at a cost of Rs 140 crores. This project is temporarily facing a setback.
The BDA proposes to construct three more flyovers to enable free flow of traffic on Outer Ring Road. One at the junction of ORR and Magadi Road at a cost of Rs 35 crores, the other at Agara and ORR junction at a cost of Rs 40 crores and the third one at Iblur and ORR Junction at a cost of Rs 30 crores
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
Completed projects: BMP has completed and thrown open to underpasses at Rajajinagar Entrance and Modi Chord Road junction which has greatly helped in smooth traffic flow in the we s t e r n parts of the city. It has also completed upgradation of 56 km of roads serving IT/BT sectors and roads, which were damaged in the previous year's floods in the eastern part of City.
Ongoing projects: Prominent road infrastructure works, which are under construction are grade separator at Yeshwanthpur Circle, Underpass at Malleshwaram Circle, bridge between Mysore Road and Chord Road at Gali Anjaneya Temple.
Development of Storm Water Drains of the Four major valleys been taken up by Bangalore Mahanagara Palike at a cost of Rs 646 crores. Government of Karnataka has entrusted development of storm water drains's in CMC areas to Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and these works have been taken up at a cost of Rs 81.00 crores and are in progress. These projects along with road infrastructure projects have been projected to JNNURM for partial funding.
BMP has revitalized lakes and developed parks at J P Park Mathikere, Sankey Tank, Ulsoor Lake, Yediyur Lake and Kempambudi Lake. An unique theme park at Old Cenral Jail premises which has been christened as Freedom Park is being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crores. Further electric crematoriums for public use at Medi Agrahara, Hebbal and Peenya have been constructed and opened. Also work for construction of pedestrian subways at City Market, Vijayanagar, Townhall, Attiguppe (RPC Layout) among others have been initiated.
Projects in the pipeline: BMP is evolving new solid waste management programmes by means of disposal by filling landiflls at Mandur wherein a waste to energy project has been planned. The management of solid waste needs to be attended on top priority. Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has earmarked Rs 500 crores for effective management of solid waste in next five years. Waste to energy is a very innovative project, which is being taken up under PPP model. Development of landfill site becomes more necessary in future years to come. Mavallipura, Mandur, Marnavatakaval and Ramanagaram are identified as possible area of landfill stations for management of solid waste station. BMP is intending to improve the capacity of compost manufacturing in this regard action plan is being prepared in consultation with KCDC.
A Master Plan is prepared for managements of solid waste under JNNURM Guidelines. Further the road infrastructure works such as grade separator at R V Teachers College and Tagore Circle are about to be taken up.
Many Grade Separator works are on the anvil and tenders are being invited for these works. Prominent among them are underpass at Maharani's College Circle, 16th Main BTM Layout, Channamma Circle (Padmanabhanagar), Basappa Circle, Kanakapura Road Junction, C N R Rao Circle, Nagawara Junction, Puttenahalli Junction, Kaderenahalli Junction and Hennur Banaswadi Junction. Also extension of flyover on Mysore Road from Sirsi Circle to Jnanabharathi is envisaged.
Apart from above BMP is proposing to take up public service works like multistoried car parking, skywalks among others at important locations. The construction of car parks at various locations is already in the process of launching. Further development of BMP sites on PPP model for commercial development has also been envisaged.

Hop a little... skip a little...

Hop a little... skip a little...

The Hindu Business Line

A unique hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus is doing the rounds in Bangalore. Wanna jump board?

The bus takes travellers through 15 stops covering Hudson circle, the Museum, MG Road, Cubbon Road, Raj Bhavan, the planetarium, Race Course and so on.



With its chirpy red exteriors and cosy interiors, it certainly looks impressive. Not to mention its towering presence on the garden city's roads. Even as it manages to attract quite a bit of attention, the `City Swaps' tourist bus largely runs empty... Even as onlookers in Bangalore wonder what this mammoth bus, which promises a `different' tourist experience, is all about, questions and doubts abound. Is it all talk with nothing much to offer? Isn't it too expensive at Rs 300? And just how different can a tourist bus be?

It was with some scepticism that I boarded the City Swaps. And although sightseeing was not on my agenda, it did prove to be a jolly jaunt.

Sitting on the open upper deck, about 14 ft from the ground, one literally felt on top on the world. Although I chose a small route, across important landmarks in the heart of the city — Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, High Court, Bangalore Palace, Golf Course and Museum, to name a few, I could get a sense of what's in store for tourists.

City Swaps does not offer a conventional tourist itinerary that breathlessly packs all kinds of places. Claimed to be India's first hop-on-hop-off bus, it promises travellers flexibility in sightseeing.

Says Avinash Kumar, CEO, Conceptree Creations, which conceived the idea for the bus, "Typically in a conducted sightseeing, you take a bus in the morning... it takes you to 10 different places, makes small halts at different places. It gives you no flexibility to plan your tour. You may want to spend more time at a particular place while the bus halt is only for 45 minutes. Or you may want to spend less time or skip a particular place. But the bus has a fixed itinerary and you have to go through all the places. And it's a daylong tour and with family and kids it can become really strenuous."


JOLLY JAUNT: Avinash Kumar of City Swaps poses with a school group on the open upper deck of the bus - Bhagya Prakash K.

Complete flexibility

This rigidity bothered him a lot and he wanted to do something that would let the tourist plan his day's trip. And as Kumar, an investment banker by profession, had lived abroad in places such as London and New York, where the hop-on-hop-off bus is a popular attraction, he decided to introduce a similar concept in India. So, after two years of thought and research, with a group of friends he started Conceptree Creations on July 28 this year.

The first idea to branch out of it was City Swaps. This is how it works. You buy a day pass (valid for 24 hours) and a fleet of five double-decker buses with open decks are at your service along a 16-km route. You board a bus at any stop and alight at any of the stops on the route. You spend as much time as you want in that place and take the next available bus. There is a bus available every half hour.

"There is complete flexibility. You can choose the order in which to visit places. You don't have to get down anywhere if you don't want to. In addition to sightseeing, you also feel part of the city. You can hop on, hop off a bus any number of times. You don't have to run first thing in the morning and come back late in the night. You can leisurely plan your tour and also explore places on your own at leisure," explains Kumar.

The bus takes travellers through 15 stops covering Hudson circle, the Museum, MG Road, Cubbon Road, Raj Bhavan, the planetarium, Race Course and so on. The hop-on-hop-off service is currently limited to the city centre but will slowly expand to include other places. There is a feeder service planned to Lalbagh Gardens and the Iskcon temple. Another attraction on the bus is the live commentary.

Lukewarm response

But despite its novelty, the bus has not really caught people's imagination. They are still asking a lot of questions... awareness is still low, says Kumar. City Swaps gets about 10 to 12 tourists per day on an average. He admits the number is very low, but adds that this is a low break-even project that can survive on fewer numbers. "If it becomes 50-60 per day, that will be a healthy number. A lot of people who haven't been on it are building certain myths around it. Whether it is traffic or cost or whether Bangalore has enough tourist places too see... This is a conducted and not guided tour. Someone who is guiding will also charge you through the nose. So, one can't really say the tariff is steep. Why, some even expect lunch to be served on board! That is taking away from the core concept. Sightseeing should never be combined with food. If you are feeling hungry, get down anywhere and eat. The core model is the flexibility of sightseeing. I want to focus on this."

But he realises it will be difficult to change the mindset of people brought up on a certain model of sightseeing. "We cannot expect them to change overnight. A lot of awareness has to be built and we have to get people to experience the service."

Kumar also has to grapple with the slow-paced nature of tourism in general and the lack of enthusiasm among Indians to discover the city the way it is meant to be. "City Swaps provides the option to explore. One can take a stroll along Ulsoor Lake or walk down Cubbon Park. People need to explore and experience the spirit of Bangalore. Sixty per cent of my crowd is foreigners because they relate to the concept immediately. They say: `Wow, we never expected this in India.' Foreign tourists want to get down, explore the place and absorb everything. But the Indian tourist prefers to be spoon-fed, he needs the entire logistics in place; when he gets down he wants a restroom, ice-cream parlour and a restaurant because he normally travels with family," he says. But despite all the scepticism among the local populace those who have actually tried the bus always say, `Wow! I never realised there is so much to Bangalore."

Soak in the city

So, what kind of tourism potential does the city have? "Of course, we have the museums, parks, gardens, monuments and shopping arcades. About 22,000-25,000 tourists arrive in Bangalore each day. So, obviously the potential is there. But it's not just about sightseeing as it's about discovering your city.

"People always mistakenly think that for culture and tourism you need a fort or monument. A city is what it is. Bangalore may not have that many monuments, but you still need a platform to highlight how the city has grown, the industries it has attracted. That doesn't mean I take them to IT companies. Bangalore needs a platform such as this to share its success story. We tell you about the city and we also take you around to experience whatever can be touched and felt. There are cities that have monuments but that's it, they may be dilapidated. What does the tourist do beyond a point," asks Kumar.

Conceptree, which does not have the budget to pull in a "Shah Rukh Khan to sell it", has so far spent a couple of crores on City Swaps and is working to spread awareness about the bus service through indirect models of advertising. For instance, by associating itself with events such as the Mysore Dasara, where it operated two buses for 10 days for local sightseeing, and Bangalore IT.in for which it provided shuttle services for delegates and visitors and organised half-hour promotional sightseeing for a taste of its services. It also organises corporate events and birthday parties on board the bus.

If the model does click in Bangalore, does Kumar plan to take it to other cities as well? "I expect this service to take six to seven months to take off. My vision is to take it to other cities as well but we need to do a lot of homework. Since the fun lies on the open upper deck, the climate has to be ideal. We also need to study the demand for it. How are the roads there? What does the city have to offer tourists?"

Spot encroachers, win cash prizes

Spot encroachers, win cash prizes
Deccan Herald

At first, it was the job of the Joint House Committee to identify encroached government land in and around Bangalore. Now, the government has entrusted this job to the general public...

At first, it was the job of the Joint House Committee to identify encroached government land in and around Bangalore. Now, the government has entrusted this job to the general public, who even stand to win a cash prize for their endeavours.

The government has decided to be “liberal” with those who voluntarily disclose their acts of encroachment. The government will also legalise the encroached land by collecting a sum equal to its market price, even if such land is not suitable for public utility.

Making an announcement to this effect on Thursday, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said that informants will get from Rs 5,000 to Rs one lakh in proportion to the extent of encroached land they identify and if the information passed on to the government is found valid.

The identity of the informants will not be disclosed. Persons with valid information can contact the Enforcement Cell (EC), which is still to be set up. Information can also be passed on to the Joint Legislature Committee, headed by MLA A T Ramaswamy.

The Enforcement Cell will acquire over 18,000 hectares of land encroached upon by private parties in Bangalore.

The members of the Cell will include the Principal Secretary of the Revenue department, a senior IAS officer and four KAS officers. Besides this, a Special Task Force headed by an SP cadre police officer will be constituted to assist the Enforcement Cell

Continued on Page 11Continued from Page 1

in acquiring the encroached land, the Chief Minister said.

The State Government will also set up a Legal Cell with four ‘efficient’ senior advocates to handle cases regarding the acquisition of such encroached land. “Only those advocates who are prompt and possess a good track record will be assigned to the job. The acquisition of government land would be completed by the end of March 2007,” he said.

Part of the land acquired will be utilised in development work, while the rest will be auctioned.

According to calculations, the government is expected to earn over Rs 15,000 crore through the auctions. The amount will be used to waive farmers’ loans and improve infrastructure in the capital and other cities of the state, he said.

According to Mr Kumaraswamy, the Enforcement Cell will take action against encroachers irrespective of their position.

“No one will be spared. Even my family members and members of the cabinet will be punished if they are found guilty,” he said.

Replying to a query, Mr Kumaraswamy said that acquisition of encroached government land will be taken up in other cities in a phased manner.

Housing

The Housing Department has set itself a target of constructing six lakh houses by the end of March 2007. So far, the construction of 91,000 houses has already been completed. Of these, 15,000 houses each will be distributed among the families of devadasis and handicapped persons. Similarly, 6,000 houses will be distributed to people who were affected by floods.

Airport expressway hits roadblock

Airport expressway hits roadblock
Deccan Herald

The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) is likely to miss its target date for the launch of the international airport, as work on the six-lane expressway linking the City with Devanahalli has made little headway...

The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) is likely to miss its target date for the launch of the international airport, as work on the six-lane expressway linking the City with Devanahalli has made little headway.

While the airport is set for an April 2008 launch, BMRDA is pushing for a mid-2008 opening for the PPP-model expressway. “The survey work has been demanding because the terrain is tough; we also need to address the issue of quarries on the way,” BMRDA Chairman Sudhir Krishna told Deccan Herald on Thursday.

When the expressway proposal was formalised in October this year, BMRDA was looking at an early 2008 launch.

The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) is doing the survey and Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the expressway, which will start at the Hennur-Challakere stretch on Outer Ring Road and pass through Chikka Gubbi and Bagalur before reaching the airport. The expressway will then connect to NH-207.

Terrestrial images of the proposed alignment routes are being superimposed on areas earmarked in the survey. According to Mr Krishna, the work is going to be challenging, as the BMRDA is also exploring the option of elevated stretches. “We hope to complete the survey and the techno-economic feasibility report by the end of January. The land acquisition pattern and budget will be decided on only after that,” he said.

The expressway’s length will be approximately 21 km, instead of 26 km as was proposed earlier.

Heavy traffic

With the airport to have an annual passenger capacity of 11 million, traffic on the expressway is going to be pretty heavy.

Mr Krishna said the BMRDA will rise to the challenge.

“Apart from six lanes, there will be adequate space to park broken-down vehicles.

The expressway will be designed to facilitate vehicle speed of up to 180 km per hour,” he said.

PROGRESS CARD

*21-km, six-lane expressway with a design speed of 180 kmph

*In survey phase; BMRDA hopeful of mid-2008 opening

*Survey work challenging, due to tough terrain and quarries

*Techno-economic feasibility report by January-end

Power cuts looming over State

Power cuts looming over State
Deccan Herald

Be prepared to face the winter-cum-summer shock — loadshedding — between January and March 2007.

With the daily consumption of power expected to touch an all-time high of 140 million units, the State Government is planning to go in for loadshedding or to purchase power from neighbouring states.

Though the latter has been its priority, it all would depend upon the availability of power with the possible suppliers thanks to the nation-wide demand for more power. The issue has been the main focus of the State Cabinet which met here on Thursday evening.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Basavaraj S Horatti said the Cabinet has authorised a sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to take a final decision in this regard in a day or two as purchase of power would incur an additional monthly burden of Rs 200 crore on the state exchequer.

Kerala to help?

Daily consumption is expected to touch 140 MU between January and March — 20 per cent more than the consumption during the corresponding period the previous year. At present, only 117 MU power is being generated daily in the state and several parts of the state are already experiencing unscheduled loadshedding.

Indicating that the government was in favour of purchasing power, mainly from Kerala, Mr Horatti said the government cannot afford to delay the purchase owing to demand for power from various other parts of the country.

However, officials indicated that they may not resort to loadshedding if the government is able to get additional power as required “but it may become a compulsion otherwise”.

The government has to purchase power at Rs 6.25 a unit as against Rs 3.14 being collected from the consumers and this would drain an extra Rs 4.04 crore a day from government coffers.

State is powerless

* Daily consumption to touch 140 mu a day

*Present generation: 117 MU/day

*Options: buying more power from neighbours or loadshedding

*Purchase would entail Rs 200 crore more

*Purchase price: Rs 6.25 a unit.

Consumer pays: Rs 3.14 paise

Move to privatise management of lakes in Bangalore opposed

Move to privatise management of lakes in Bangalore opposed

The Hindu

BANGALORE: Each year, wetlands in Bangalore, as in other parts of India, are vanishing rapidly, and they now constitute a mere 4.8 per cent of the total geographical area of the city. But, absence of management and conservation practices, insensitive administration, and lack of understanding about the need for water bodies to remain healthy, have left barely two of the 34 "live" lakes in good condition.

This is the backdrop against which "Lakes-2006, environmental education and ecological conservation" organised by the Energy and Wetlands Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science, began here on Thursday.

Speaking at the inaugural session of "Lakes-2006," organised by the Energy and Wetlands Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science, that began here on Thursday, T.V. Ramachandra, convenor of the symposium, said the move of the State Government to privatise the management of lakes and tanks in Bangalore had only spelt the death knell of the few lakes that remain in the city.

"Lakes and tanks must be looked after by the people and the Government. Having worked with children and students, and involved them in many projects that address the conservation needs of water bodies in Bangalore, I think these water bodies should become the experimental laboratories for school and college students," he said.

The motto "develop or perish" had played havoc with the wetlands in the city and elsewhere, and the connectivity of these water bodies had been snapped, while on the other hand, they have become the receptacles for sewage and effluents and other hazardous wastes.

In a presentation, N. Ahalya, who has worked on "constructed wetlands" which are intended to help recharge ground water, and to promote a culture of resurrection of these water bodies with benign intervention, demonstrated the use of agriculture waste like husk of tur dal, Bengal gram dal, tamarind and coffee in removing heavy metals like chromium from waste water before it is released into water bodies.

N.V. Joshi, chairman of CES, said it had been organising this symposium once in two years. Prema Rajagopal, principal of Vidyaniketan School, said that since children were the future guardians of the environment, education was a means of empowerment. Director of National Institute of Teachers' Training and Research Arun Kumar and principal of K.K. High School M.A. Khan addressed the session which was specially arranged for children. Move to privatise management of lakes in Bangalore opposed

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Each year, wetlands in Bangalore, as in other parts of India, are vanishing rapidly, and they now constitute a mere 4.8 per cent of the total geographical area of the city. But, absence of management and conservation practices, insensitive administration, and lack of understanding about the need for water bodies to remain healthy, have left barely two of the 34 "live" lakes in good condition.

This is the backdrop against which "Lakes-2006, environmental education and ecological conservation" organised by the Energy and Wetlands Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science, began here on Thursday.

Speaking at the inaugural session of "Lakes-2006," organised by the Energy and Wetlands Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science, that began here on Thursday, T.V. Ramachandra, convenor of the symposium, said the move of the State Government to privatise the management of lakes and tanks in Bangalore had only spelt the death knell of the few lakes that remain in the city.

"Lakes and tanks must be looked after by the people and the Government. Having worked with children and students, and involved them in many projects that address the conservation needs of water bodies in Bangalore, I think these water bodies should become the experimental laboratories for school and college students," he said.

The motto "develop or perish" had played havoc with the wetlands in the city and elsewhere, and the connectivity of these water bodies had been snapped, while on the other hand, they have become the receptacles for sewage and effluents and other hazardous wastes.

In a presentation, N. Ahalya, who has worked on "constructed wetlands" which are intended to help recharge ground water, and to promote a culture of resurrection of these water bodies with benign intervention, demonstrated the use of agriculture waste like husk of tur dal, Bengal gram dal, tamarind and coffee in removing heavy metals like chromium from waste water before it is released into water bodies.

N.V. Joshi, chairman of CES, said it had been organising this symposium once in two years. Prema Rajagopal, principal of Vidyaniketan School, said that since children were the future guardians of the environment, education was a means of empowerment. Director of National Institute of Teachers' Training and Research Arun Kumar and principal of K.K. High School M.A. Khan addressed the session which was specially arranged for children.

Cabinet nod for project to ease traffic congestion

Cabinet nod for project to ease traffic congestion

The Hindu

Rs. 350 crore has been sanctioned for the `B-Track 2010' project

# It will reduce congestion by 30 per cent in central area
# It will also strive to reduce pollution, accidents

BANGALORE: In a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the city through better traffic management, the Cabinet on Thursday provided administrative clearance to the Bangalore Traffic Improvement Project titled "B-Track 2010."

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti said Rs. 350 crore had been sanctioned for the project which would be executed by the Bangalore City Police and Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited in co-ordination with Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.

The project, which was the first of its kind in the country, would address the issues of traffic congestion and safety among other things with the help of the latest traffic management technology.

This was expected to provide scope for the proper planning and implementation of larger infrastructure projects which were in the pipeline, sources told The Hindu.

The project aimed at reducing traffic by about 30 per cent in the central area of the city comprising the Vidhana Soudha and the MS Building, besides setting a target of reducing accidents by 30 per cent.

It would also strive to reduce pollution and achieve substantial compliance with traffic rules by vehicle users. An effective trauma care system would also be set up under the project, they said.

The project would also include setting up no-auto zones in the central areas of the city, setting up dedicated bus lanes and developing the core ring road as well as radial corridors.

It would also develop mechanisms for institutionalising traffic task force, road safety committee and traffic action committee.

It would set up a Control and Traffic Command Centre for monitoring the traffic situation. It would implement a synchronised traffic signal system in the city and variable messaging systems between traffic junctions with the help of which traffic police at particular signals would get information on the traffic situation in other signals.

Objections rejected

The Cabinet has set the stage for the formation of Greater Bangalore by rejecting all the 133 objections filed by the public.

However, it authorised the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to decide on the pleas for excluding some areas of City and Town Municipal Councils from the jurisdiction of the proposed Greater Bangalore, Mr. Horatti said.

Traffic curbs for Malleswaram underpass construction

Traffic curbs for underpass construction
VIJAY TIMES NEWS

BBaannggaal loor re e: : The City police have restricted traffic on some routes due to the construction of underpass on 5th Cross, Malleshwaram. The restrictions are as follows.

nVehicles coming from Srirampura 3rd main and RP Road are barred from entering South-End Road near Vellipuram Railway Bridge

nMovement of vehicles restricted on Malleshwaram 4th main from 18th Cross junction up to South-End Road junction

nVehicles restricted from entering Malleswaram Circle from KC General Hospital junction

nVehicles coming from Geetanjali junction to Malleshwaram circle on Malleshwaram 5th Cross restricted

nVehicles coming from PF Road towards Malleswaram Circle on Sampige Road cannot proceed beyond Mill Corner Junction towards Malleshwaram Circle

nTwo-day traffic allowed on Margosa Road

nWest to east one-way on Malleshwaram 11th Cross is now east to west one-way

nNorth to south one-way on Malleshwaram 4th main between 18th Cross junction and MD Block junction is now south to north one-way

nMovement of BMTC buses from Vyalikaval to Geetanjali theatre restricted

nMovement of KSTRC buses restricted towards Malleshwaram Circle from Kempegowda Bus Station. Instead, KSRTC buses can reach the Tumkur Road by entering Dr Rajkumar Road from PF Road junction and Vatal Nagaraj Road Police Commissioner Achutha Rao has clarified the system will be in place only till the completion of the underpass.

Special force to seize 18,000 acres

Special force to seize 18,000 acres
Vijay Times

:: Land sharks, beware. In a major decision, the government on Thursday decided to take back more than 18,000 acres of encroached government land. To speed up this process, a special enforcement cell, a task force and a legal cell have been set up.

Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the cells will start functioning from the first week of January and they have been directed to take back possession of encroached lands in and around Bangalore city by the end of the financial year. This means government has three months to act.

The Chief Minister also announced cash prizes of Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh to those who give information about encroachment of government land. Name and address of the informer will be kept secret, he added.

“We have identified 18,000 acres of government land worth more than Rs 25,000 crore. After getting possession of the lands, some portion will be used for public utilities and for providing housing facility for poor and backward people. Additional land will be auctioned, “ the Chief Minister said.

The government would get more than Rs 15,000 crore from auction and this would be used for waiver of loans of the farmers. “I have already directed officials to get information about the amount of loans farmers got in various institutions”, he added.

The Chief Minister said the enforcement cell will be headed by the Principal Secretary of Revenue department. An IAS officer of district magistrate rank and four senior KAS officers of Assistant Commissioner rank will be the members of the cell. The Special task force will be headed by a senior IPS officer. Four eminent lawyers will be appointed for the legal cell.

Regarding legal issues, the Law department has initiated steps for setting up a special court for speedy disposal of encroachment cases. A letter has been sent to Chief Justice of the High Court in this regard. “The CJ has agreed in principle and a bench may be set up in the High Court itself” Kumaraswamy said. If any person comes out for self declaration of encroached land, special consideration will be given under the legal framework.



Guess who?

Chief Minister Kumaraswamy on Thursday hinted to the scribes about various types of encroachment and misuse of government land. “ A “powerful” person got government land under the pretext of cultivating medicinal plants. But now a multi-storeyed building has been constructed in that place. This is a sample of how the government land being misused” he explained.

n18,000 acres of land worth Rs 25,000 crore to be taken over

nEnforcement cell, task force and a legal cell from first week of Jan

nCJ approached for setting up of a special court

nLands worth Rs 15,000 cr to be auctioned

nThe amount to be used to waive off loans of the farmers

nCash award of Rs 5,000 to 1,00,000 to informers

nRegularisation under market rate if self-declared

500 million litres of sewage enters Bellandur Lake daily

500 million litres of sewage enters Bellandur Lake daily
Vijay Times

BANGALORE: The Remote Sensing Data Analysis reveals that only 36 ‘live tanks’ exist in Bangalore.

Currently, the plight of the existing lakes is even more critical as they are becoming dumping grounds for all kinds of filth. Bellandur Lake alone receives over 500 million litres of sewage every day.

The water treated by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) hardly matters, as the same water gets mixed with the sewage and enters the lake.

Even after the rains exposed the ill effects of the lake encroachments, it still continues in the catchment areas. Feeding sewage, dumping garbage, lake privatisation, encroachments and catchment alteration are the main reasons for the diminishing lakes in the city, opine experts.

In a bid to conserve these water bodies from extinction in young minds, the Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Studies (IISc), is conducting ‘Lake 2006’-a symposium on ‘Environment Education and Ecosystem Conservation’ from December 28 to 30.

“Lakes are an important part of the urban eco-system. The recent study showed that the ground water level was 60 feet, adjacent to places where lakes existed. After the lake disappeared, the level went down to 280 feet,” Dr T V Ramachandran, convenor of Lake 2006, told this paper.

Cabinet moots curbs on yellow tops in busy areas

Cabinet moots curbs on yellow tops in busy areas

AUTO STOP Majestic |Rajajinagar |Mysore Road |Corporation Ci Shivajinagar | K R Market |Basavanagudi | Chamarajpet |Swastic Circle

VIJAY TIMES NEWS

Bangaloreans living in the Central Business District (CBD) get ready to say good-bye to your convenient mode of transport. The State cabinet has proposed a ban on autorickshaws in the CBD, under the B-Trac 2010 project.

Though the cabinet decision does’t mention the areas where the ban will come into force, Rajajinagar, Mysore Road, Basavanagudi, Chamarajpet, Corporation Circle, Lalbagh Circle, Cubbon Park, Shivajinagar, K R Market, Swastik Circle are being mentioned.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M N Reddi, said, “It would be incorrect to comment upon without knowing the cabinet decision.” However, he clarified, that the police department had not made any such proposal to the government.

BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathi, who has advocated a ban on autorickshaws in the CBD to ease the movement of BMTC buses, said he was unaware of the minutiae of the Cabinet proposal.

“So far, this kind of ban has been implemented in Mumbai and recently in Pune. If any such decision is implemented, BMTC is ready to operate more buses including mini-buses to help the public” he said.

M N Sreehari, traffic expert, said, “Before taking any decision, the government must think about providing intermediate transport immediately. If autorickshaws are banned, public will be put to a lot of hardship as they can’t take City Taxi’s for a higher fare. Only when the Metro rail starts operating, can the government think of a ban that too in a phased manner.” Coming down heavily on the move, Somashekar, president of Bangalore Auto Drivers’ Union told VVi ijja ayy TTi im meess : “It is impossible to ban autorickshaws. BMTC buses cannot take the public to their door steps or pick them up from their shopping points. The public will oppose move.” He added that if the autorickshaws are banned, all the unions in the City will enlist public support and go on strike.

Manjunath, president of Adarsha Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union said, “Ten years back, the government had come up with the same proposal, but it was not implemented due to the stiff opposition from auto unions. We are going to fight the latest move tooth and nail.”

Is the proposed ban on autos in busy areas a good idea? Will it ease congestion or will it put the livelihood of thousands in peril? Will it work or is it just too impractical? How will it affect you? Are you for it or against? Tell us.

Email us your response

u2u@vijaytimes.com

Banks turn away BDA site allottees

Banks turn away BDA site allottees
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The BDA’s decision to depart from its practice of issuing absolute sale deeds, and instead, issue lease-cum-sale agreement has made life difficult for site allottees. They are finding it impossible to get bank loans.

This is only an unpredictable twist in the BDA tale. It now turns out that all major banks have been turning away allottees in the Arkavathy layout after they have discovered that they will have to wait till the expiry of the lease period to recover the loan advanced in the event of a default.

The BDA has, so far, allotted 9000 sites in the Arkavathy layout by imposing a lease period of 10 years. The registration formalities are done only after 10 years.

This, in fact, was the practice in vogue till about six years ago. The BDA reverted to this old way of site allotments early this year after it found that issuing absolute sale deeds was not helping those who were in genuine need of a site. It, instead, suited people who quickly sold their sites upon allotment and profited from the real estate boom in Bangalore.

The trend defeated BDA’s purpose of providing housing sites to the needy. Unexpected, however, was how the banks would respond to this new approach. The long period of wait in the event of a default and the RBI’s warnings on restricting exposure to real estate seem to have acted as a dampener on banks.

While nationalised banks are clearly shying away from lending to BDA sites, private money lenders are cashing in on the distress of site allottees and are offering loans at rates upwards of 24% per annum. Badly hit by this are families from the economically weaker sections who have got 20x30 ft sites, but could not get bank loans.

Interestingly, even BDA’s sole banker, the Canara Bank, too seems to be unaware of the change in BDA’s allotment rules. Some of its branches asked the allottees to produce registration documents in support of their loan requisition, unaware that the State-owned agency has stopped registration of sites upon allotment.

If banks stick to their stand, it will only spell more trouble for the BDA site aspirants, a bulk of whom cannot buy a site without assistance from banks. The BDA has already hinted that the price of its sites will almost double in the next allotment in line with the market trends.

BMTC's `Sarathi' getting good response

BMTC's `Sarathi' getting good response

The Hindu

Bangalore: Almost a fortnight and thousands of calls later, the seven "Sarathi" complaint centres of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) have become popular among bus commuters. Instead of fuming over bad service or misbehaviour by bus crew, they can actually call and register a complaint. Even get a follow-up call if they leave their number.

According to BMTC officials, many bus passengers especially on the peripheral routes, had complaints about frequency of services and buses not stopping at designated stop. The Sarathi services were to get a feedback and possibly, with immediate action if the passenger could provide the required details.

Commuters can register complaints about instances such as buses not stopping at designated stops; pass holders being not allowed to travel; reserved seats not being allotted to those entitled to them such as women or buses deviating from authorised routes.

They can complain about sudden cancellation of trips, bus crew behaving rudely, if the crew are not in uniform or if pneumatic doors now fitted on more buses are not closed while the bus was moving. The number of Sarathi centres is to be increased in the New Year and will cater to more city and suburban routes. The complaint centres and their phone numbers are: Kanakapura Road-Hosur Road (9845670251), Hosur Road-Old Madras Road (9845670252), Old Madras Road-Tannery Road (9945670253), Tannery Road-Tumkur Road (9945670254), Tumkur Road-Magadi Road (9945670255), Magadi Road-Mysore Road (9945670256) and Mysore Road-Kanakapura Road (9945670257).

BMP asks contractors to employ more workers to complete work on roads

BMP asks contractors to employ more workers to complete work on roads

The Hindu

BANGALORE: Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) Commissioner K. Jairaj on Wednesday reviewed the progress of roadworks being taken up under the Karnataka Municipal Reforms Project (KMRP).

Expressing displeasure over the delay in the execution of the 1, 2 and 3 packages under this project, the Commissioner directed the contractors entrusted with these works — K.N.R. Constructions and R.N. Shetty Infrastructure — to deploy more workers and get the work completed at the earliest.

According to an official release, the contractors had promised the Commissioner that work on all 29 roads under these packages would be completed before the onset of monsoon in June.

"As per the agreement, work on all these roads is supposed to be completed by November 2007. The BMP will request the traffic police to cooperate with the contractors in completing these works," the release said.

The Assistant Executive Engineer of Basavanagudi Range on Wednesday got the stretch of pavement from R.V. Teachers' College on R.V. Road up to Minerva Circle cleared of all obstructions. BMP men removed plastic sheets, boards, hoardings and signboards that were projecting outside the shops and obstructing pedestrian movement, the release added.

DPAR inspection

A team of officials from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), who on Tuesday started a weeklong inspection of BMP head office and other zonal offices, inspected the BMP zonal office situated near Bashyam Park on Sampige Road.

Circular

According to an official circular, the team will visit the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike's office complex on Queens' Road on Thursday and those on the Channammanakere Achukattu on Friday and Saturday.

The BMP offices in Gandhinagar will be inspected on Wednesday and those situated in Mayo Hall will be checked on Thursday.

Be careful on land use change, officials told

Be careful on land use change, officials told
The Hindu

All doubts on Greater Bangalore to be addressed

# Governor has sought clarifications on Ordinance: Kumaraswamy
# The number of wards in the new council likely to be 150

BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday cautioned officials of the urban local bodies and departments of revenue and urban development to be "extra careful" while permitting land conversions.

Addressing presspersons after a meeting with officials from the seven City Municipal Councils (CMCs), one Town Municipal Council (TMC), revenue and urban development, the Chief Minister said he had directed the officials to strictly implement "The Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006" promulgated on December 11.

"We are in the process of forming the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and in the wake of this, we want to check misuse of Form 9 and Form 10 through which land conversions (from agricultural to non-agricultural purposes) are done. I have told the officials to consult the Government before allowing any land conversions," he said.

Replying to questions, the Chief Minister said that "all resistance to the formation of BBMP would be addressed within the framework of law."

When pointed out that the Mahadevapura CMC had adopted a resolution objecting to the State Government's move to form BBMP, the Chief Minister said the Government would "clear all doubts and address all objections within the framework of law."

Delimitation on

He said the delimitation exercise for reorganisation of wards was on and it was likely that the number of wards would increase from 100 to 150. When pointed out that the Governor had returned the Ordinance on increasing the number of wards, Mr. Kumaraswamy said: "The Governor has not objected. He has sought clarification on the issue and we will explain to him the entire process."

Declining to comment as to when the Government would issue the final notification on BBMP, the Chief Minister said, "the process is on and we will soon issue the final notification."

The Bangalore Development Authority's (BDA) Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) would be finalised in the first week of January, he added.

City to get BRT

City to get BRT
Vijay Times

Its now official, finally! The City will get its first BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) corridor. Yes, the State government has decided to go ahead in making the BRT a reality following a trip to Beijing undetaken by Transport Minister H Cheluvarayaswamy to study the system there.

D Thangaraj, principal secretary, transport department told Vijay Times on Wednesday that the project, to be developed jointly by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), entails developing the entire 38-km stretch between Central Silk Board and Hebbal as a BRT corridor in the first phase.

"A committee headed by the chief secretary has examined the transport angle as part of the overall package to improve infrastructure in the state. It will be a pilot project undertaken by the BDA. When operational, speed of buses will be 30 km per hour as opposed to 14 km at present," indicated Thangaraj.

The funding for the project is likely to be drawn from the JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission). The cost per km would be approximately Rs 10 crore if a separate corridor is constructed. Otherwise, it would be one-tenth of the cost if modifications are planned on the existing outer ring road corridor, said the principal secretary. RITES have been asked to prepare a DPR (Detailed Project Report) on the project.

Highly placed sources in the BMTC said the project will have the entire outer ring road as a BRT corridor in phases. The BDA will be entrusted with the task of implementing the core project, while the BMP has been asked to draw plans to connect grid routes to the outer ring road on which buses ply at present, while BMTC would be providing the rolling stock.

"Apart from Volvo buses that will ply on the BRT as in developed nations, we will examine connectivity of all 27 grid routes through regular buses on Lite BRT routes. The ministry of urban development will present the project to the Centre for availing of funds from JNNURM," said the authorities.

Sources also said the transport minister will in a review meeting with RITES on Thursday, discuss the project along with stakeholders from BDA, BMP and BMTC.


lDedicated high-capacity buses on an identified corridor with physical separation from other traffic lanes

l7 to 10 high capacity buses on these corridors

lModern bus stops, bus ticketing and rider information systems

lIntegrated common ticketing system across different modes such as Metro Rail

lAdvanced, high-speed lowfloor Volvo buses with cleaner fuels

lAll feeder services to be coordinated, including movement of pedestrians

lSkywalks and state-of-art bus shelters and bays on BRT

lSignal synchronisation for speed of buses

BMP lacks planning

BMP lacks planning
New Indian Express

The roads in the city have not been seeing any progress and other infrastructure like grade separators and subways have not solved traffic problem of the city.

The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) had declared widening of 84 roads, about 16 subways and 6 grade separators apart from taking up annual facelift to the roads.

The city is yet to see any results. ”The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) lacks planning and timely execution of projects. The civic body does not take all aspects of the projects into consideration.

Ongoing grade separator works in Malleswaram is an example. The residents protested faulty design of the project and not the work per se. It was stalled for a while and government promised to review but the work now has resumed without any change as suggested by residents.

The footpath is not designed as per norms and consequent traffic flow in link road is not addressed. The faulty design continues.”

Lights, camera, inaction: city auditoriums in decay

Lights, camera, inaction: city auditoriums in decay

The Hindu

Starved of funds and official attention, many performance halls have become `non-performing assets'

# 117 of its 147 lights in Ravindra Kalakshetra do not work
# Yavanika has no separate entry for the green rooms




BANGALORE: Scene One: Silence falls and darkness engulfs the hall. The curtains rise in a dramatic flourish unveiling a dimly lit stage. As the main character prepares for a grand entry, a rodent squeals and scuttles across the stage.

Scene Two: The audience applauds the high-energy play. Rushing back to the green room, the actors cry out in pain — the nails on the stage have pierced their feet.

Scene Three: The Hindustani maestro electrifies the audience with his rendition. Ecstatic, they cry for more. As if on cue, the acoustics simply fail.

These are not unfamiliar experiences for artistes who use the many government-owned theatres and performance halls of the city. Well-appointed and in use round the year, these performance spaces are in a state of gross neglect and disrepair. Starved of funds and official attention, they have become "non-performing assets." This is a matter of great concern for the growing circle of amateur and professional theatre persons, and enthusiastic audiences who throng performances even in these substandard, even hazardous halls.

The Public Eye team did a reality check on these halls.

Ravindra Kalakshetra

Built in 1963 as a birth centenary tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, Ravindra Kalakshetra once proudly wore the city's "best designed theatre" tag with ample wing space, good height and acoustics. Today, its chairs creak, 117 of its 147 lights do not work, and its sound system operates only with manual control, as the electronic controls are dead.

The status report comes from Karnataka Nataka Academy chairman Srinivas G. Kappanna. "The auditorium," he told The Hindu , "does not provide a conducive atmosphere for theatre lighting and acoustics." Having performed at the famed auditorium ever since 1968, he should know.

A closer look reveals more. The hall's music pit has been closed long ago, and the air-conditioning does not function. Torn and broken seats are a viewer's nightmare. Worse, the sound system suddenly fails. Performers are often forced to bring in expensive sound and lighting equipment with them.

Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira

Performers bring their own lights and acoustics to the Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira, a 573-seat theatre located in the heart of the city's Majestic area. Its exterior lacks aesthetic appeal and the parking space is cluttered with unused drums and other material.

The theatre is comparatively well maintained and has a working air-conditioning system. However, access is restricted to only one theatre company a year for a monthly rent of Rs. 47,000 to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP). Call it mismanagement, the BMP runs up a bill of almost Rs. 55,000 every month for electricity alone.

Bal Bhavan

Set in the idyllic green surroundings of Cubbon Park, the Bal Bhavan auditorium was built to provide an impetus to children's theatre in the city. Today, it is sadly a picture of neglect.

Although administrator of the complex T. Annapurna insists that the hall had been renovated recently, its 400-odd seats give backaches. There are no lights or lighting bar, and the projector screen is torn. The walls have been recently repainted. The auditorium is now mostly leased out to schools for annual day functions. "The lighting and sound system in the auditorium are good enough for that," said Mr. Vishwanath, an official.

A.V. Varadachar Memorial Hall

For decades, the A.V. Varadachar Memorial Hall in Seshadripuram was used for music concerts. Today, part of its premises is a dumping yard. "Now, the hall is locked most of the time. A watchman lives on the premises. No one wants to use it as it lacks the basic facilities," said an old resident of the area.

Yavanika

Noted filmmaker and theatre expert M.S. Sathyu observed: "Yavanika has no separate entry for the green rooms. Artistes have to go through the stage. The engineer has placed the entrance to the theatre in the wrong place. It is just about okay for a solo performance."

Guru Nanak Bhavan

Theatre director Balaji M. has run into problems aplenty staging plays at the Guru Nanak Bhavan. He is not alone. "When we performed there, we all had sores on our feet caused by jutting nails on the stage. Rodents scurried around even as the artistes performed," he recalled. The sound system and lighting is "outdated" and the toilets stink.

According to sources at the Youth Services Department, the sound and light system is being upgraded, and the green room modernised. Over 40 per cent of the funds for the department go to the maintenance of the auditoria. But it hardly shows.

50 wards to get Cauvery water in six months

50 wards to get Cauvery water in six months

The Hindu

Foundation stone laid for Rs. 16.65-crore BWSSB scheme Foundation stone laid for Rs. 16.65-crore BWSSB scheme

# Officials told to look at Hemavathi as an alternative source
# Seven tmcft more water to be drawn from the Cauvery

Bangalore: About 50 wards in the eight urban local bodies around Bangalore will get Cauvery water within the next six months, said N.C. Muniyappa, chairman of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony for a Rs. 16.65-crore BWSSB scheme to get 100 million litres of water per day (MLD) from the Cauvery to these urban local bodies.

"While we are getting 500 million litres of water per day for Rs. 3,300 crore under funding from the Japan Bank International Cooperation, we have reduced the expenditure on this scheme from Rs. 500 crore to Rs. 16.65 crore thanks to our engineers," he said.

Mr. Muniyappa also said, "Until now, we have not given importance to sewage management in the city. For this, we have developed a master plan and getting funds under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)."

Ramachandra Gowda, Minister for Science and Technology, said that alternative plans should be made to get water for Bangalore and not depend on the Cauvery alone. He called upon officials to look at the Hemavathi as an alternative source of drinking water. "We could get water from Kunigal through Solur to Thippagondanahalli Reservoir," he said.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare R. Ashok said that plans were afoot to get seven tmcft more of Cauvery water by 2012, in addition to the 12 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water already being drawn from the Cauvery. As much as 5,000 acres of government land had been identified in Greater Bangalore, he said.

BWSSB Employees Union leader Ramanna presented a memorandum seeking an increase in the number of employees. "Our staff strength has been decreasing over the years but the amount of work has increased," he said.

In reference to the privately funded Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sanitation Project (GBWASP), Mr. Ramanna also urged Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy not to allow for more privatisation. The Chief Minister, who laid the foundation for the scheme, said that he would look into the demand for increasing the workforce. But he cautioned that a rise in workforce should not lead to a decrease in efficiency.

Ring road has sadly not achieved its purpose: CM

Ring road has sadly not achieved its purpose: CM
The Times of India

Bangalore: When the Outer Ring Road idea was mooted and construction began 10 years ago, it was supposed to be on the outskirts at that time. Today, it is a part of Bangalore. Had the authorities planned this project with an eye on the future volume of traffic, the Ring Road would have achieved its purpose.
Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said: “The authorities should have planned a eight-lane ring road which would have served its purpose now. The Outer Ring Road is very much a part of the city and cannot accommodate such a rise in traffic.” He advised the authorities to plan everything keeping in mind 50 years from now.

BWSSB braces for Greater Bangalore

BWSSB braces for Greater Bangalore
Deccan Herald

Will Greater Bangalore leave the new entrants into the City limits thirsty? The question might simply not arise if the BWSSB’s augmentation project clicks...

Will Greater Bangalore leave the new entrants into the City limits thirsty? The question might simply not arise if the BWSSB’s augmentation project clicks. Come April, the BWSSB promises to provide 100 MLD (million litres a day) of Cauvery water to the eight urban local bodies.

However, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who launched the Rs 16.15-crore project in the City on Tuesday, was left to answer several questions on the feasibility of the project and the survival of BWSSB.

If BWSSB Chairman N C Muniyappa urged the State Government to review the quantum jump in the workload of the BWSSB consequent to increase in the population covered vis-a-vis its dwindling manpower, Industries Minister Katta Subrahmanya Naidu reminded the government that mushrooming industries would soon add another five lakh to the City’s population.

Science and Technology Minister Ramachandre Gowda wondered if it was about time to look beyond the Cauvery (at the Hemavathy) for Bangalore’s drinking water needs. “BWSSB is catering to five lakh houses and within the next six months, we hope to provide water to 50 wards in the the eight urban local bodies too. We hope to empanel BWSSB to increase its efficiency,” Mr Muniyappa said, adding that a masterplan for sewage management in Greater Bangalore was being prepared under the JN-NURM.

The CM stressed the need for better co-ordination among the departments. “Can BWSSB survive simply by adding numbers? The issue of empanelment will be discussed in detail. Today, I take it up as a challenge to make Greater Bangalore successful. The coalition government may run another 30 months, but before that I hope to give this plan a final shape. We also have to focus on rainwater harvesting, save lakes and give a boost to projects like this (augmentation), which has brought down the cost from Rs 500 crore to Rs 16.65 crore.”

MORE WATER

* Bangalore gets 810 MLD of treated water under the four stages of the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme.

* Rs 16.15-crore project will add 100 MLD to the existing water supply under CWSS Stage IV Phase I

Just binge this New Year eve

Just binge this New Year eve
Deccan Herald

Say cheers to 2007! New Year eve revellers can crawl a couple of pubs more, besides quaffing a few extra pegs as the authorities have decided to relax the Cinderella rule governing the City’s bars and eateries on the occasion.

Say cheers to 2007! New Year eve revellers can crawl a couple of pubs more, besides quaffing a few extra pegs as the authorities have decided to relax the Cinderella rule governing the City’s bars and eateries on the occasion.

According to excise sources, pubs and bars will be allowed to remain open for an hour after the stipulated 11:30 pm deadline on December 31.

Bangalore City Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao told reporters on Tuesday: “We are not going to forcibly close down food joints and other outlets. As a special case on New Year's Eve, after the closing of bars, we will give an extra hour for the “food joints” to do business.”

“We want everyone to enjoy and welcome the New Year peacefully but they should abide by the law,” the police chief said. Adequate security will be provided.

An element of extra caution has been necessitated this year as a massive Hindu meet is being held in the City on the same day and Bakrid falls the next day.

“More police personnel will be posted at sensitive points in the Bangalore central business district, especially M G Road, Brigade Road and adjoining areas.”

The City police are also planning to instal video cameras at sensitive points for the first time.

Mr Rao made it clear that the police wouldn’t be considerate when it comes to drunk driving. “We don’t want road mishaps ringing in the New Year. We don’t want to come in the way of people drinking and enjoying. But at the same time, we request them to have liquor within permissible limits and drive back home safe. If they are bent upon crossing the limits, let them hire a driver.”

In the same vein, he said the police won’t spare riders without helmets. Drag races on Cubbon Road and M G Road after they are opened to traffic too won’t be tolerated, he added.

New spanner in road works!

New spanner in road works!
Deccan Herald

Waiting for a new telephone connection? Or hoping to get a leakage in your water supply line plugged?

Your anxious query will only be returned with a new excuse from the service providers: ‘We are awaiting permission from the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike for road cutting’.

Thanks to the Road Opening Restoration Protocol, which mandates service providers to seek the BMP’s nod for road cutting.

At loggerheads

The BMP officials and the utility agencies are at loggerheads over some clauses in the protocol.

“The protocol insists that road cutting be allowed only during weekends and holidays, preferably at night. That results in a pile-up of work over the week and causes undue delay,” complains a BSNL official.

“We need to take separate permission for works that are planned simultaneously across the City. Moreover, cable laying in the night is difficult for want of labourers, and contractors are unable to complete it within the stipulated time,” they add. Many agencies are going ahead with road cutting without the permission, too. The penalty collected for violations in the East division alone is Rs 26 lakh, this year.

Unchecked

“Unauthorised road cutting goes unchecked as we are unable to monitor every nook and corner of the City. Perhaps, the citizens can chip in by alerting us about any digging activity in their locality,” say the officials.

The agencies blame the BMP for delaying permission, but the BMP officials are in no mood to buy this argument. “It is true we’ve denied fresh permission to agencies that have not carried out restoration as per our standards. We’ve also forced some to re-do the restoration,” says an engineer.

“We are careful while granting permission on the arterial roads (96) and sub-arterial roads (118). Moreover, the restoration clause is strict and requires the agencies to deposit money (non-refundable). The agencies have to follow norms like erecting barricades, displaying caution boards, etc. The agencies are not too keen to follow these rules,” claims a senior BMP official.

HIGHLIGHTS

*No manual cutting or open trenching, only horizontal directional drilling (HDD) will be permitted.

*Road cutting only in the presence of engineer of the concerned agency mentioned in the permission letter.

*HDD pit to be refilled within 48 hours.

*Debris to be removed and dumped beyond BMP limits.

*Permission for crossroads to be given by respective zonal office, while for arterial and sub-arterial roads and emergency works, permission to be given by technical consultant.

*Barricading, caution boards and other precautionary caution boards and name of the agency to be displayed.

*No damage to be caused to BMP drains/name boards or other utility lines or trees.

*HDD application made by one Agency will be mailed/faxed to all other Agencies to eliminate frequent opening of roads by various agencies.

Whose pick will it be – Govt’s or citizen’s?

Whose pick will it be – Govt’s or citizen’s?
Deccan Herald

Ward committees may not have been much of a success as a tool of local governance in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, but the reduced number of elected representatives under the proposed Greater Bangalore dispensation, could eventually mean that the members of these committees too will to be elected and not nominated.

Greater Bangalore, which has been making much news in terms of the expansion of the administrative unit, presents a strange case as far as elected representatives go. Their number will dwindle by more than half.

348 representatives

The 100 corporators of the BMP and their counterparts in the seven CMCs and one TMC currently account for 348 elected representatives in the 741-sq-km area that will make up Greater Bangalore.

Add the gram panchayat members from the 111 villages that will also become part of GB, and you get an idea of the mix of electees and nominees in the present setup (see inset box).

The State Government has said the number of GB wards will be about 150. It means 150 corporators. Interestingly, Governor T N Chaturvedi has questioned the basis for pegging the number of wards at 150; he has sent back the bill where the government has sought to amend the KMC Act and increase the maximum number of wards a city corporation can have from 100 to 150.

Making amends

A senior officer involved in the Greater Bangalore exercise told Deccan Herald recently that one way of making up for reduced number of elected representatives would be to go in for election of ward committee (WC) members, who are currently nominated by the government.

Corporators of the recently defunct Bangalore Mahanagara Palike council this reporter spoke to, however, don’t think much of the fall in number.

The ward size will increase and that means more funds and more power in the hands of a corporator, is their way of looking at things. It is also noted that though the corporators’ number will go down, the ongoing delimitation of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies will increase the number of MLAs and MPs from the City area.

THINK TANK OR CRONY CLUB ?

What is a ward committee (WC)? What did it mean to BMP?

A WC is mandated as per the 74th amendment to the Constitution. A cluster of three or four wards will makes one WC area (30 in the BMP). Corporators of these wards, besides seven others nominated by the government from among the area’s electorate, are its members.

Of the seven nominated members, five are “prominent citizens in their individual capacity” and two NGO representatives. The members shall elect one of their corporators as chairman; the jurisdictional Assistant Revenue Officer is their executive head.

The committee has no financial power though it is expected to keep a tab on civic issues and guide the civil works in the area.

Former mayor P R Ramesh whose area was known for its active WC (the Basavanagudi one) feels these committees help in micro-level redress of civic problems.

The local officials concerned with water supply, electricity, health, education, engineering, welfare etc, all attend the monthly meetings; the expertise and knowledge the WC members bring in gives a focus to local development works, he says.

Mr B R Nanjundappa, JD(S) leader in the last BMP council, notes that WCs were misused by the ruling party to ‘harass’ corporators of the Opposition. “Though the rules say that the government shall nominate prominent citizens as members, a ruling party will generally nominate its local workers. In some instances, WC members have even gotten away with posing themselves as corporators,” he says.

BMP must act on stray dog menace

BMP must act on stray dog menace

The Hindu

Bangalore: G.S. Narayanan, former Deputy Manager of NABARD, says: "Stray dog menace is an issue that concerns all of us and more worrying because children are the victims of dog bite."

The situation in Jayanagar 4th Block, which he is familiar with, may be typical of the city and he writes: "The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, which is to become BBMP, may have to do something about street dog menace at least now." He says that catching stray dogs with the help of unskilled staff in a rickety van is a vain attempt. Everyone knows the dogs smell the van and scurry for cover and reappear once the dog-catchers go away. They are a nuisance during the nights when they forage for food and fight for territorial rights, he adds. To reduce stray dog menace Mr. Narayanan suggests that people should not throw eatables on the roadside; leftovers from parties should be packed in large plastic bags and handed over to BMP garbage collectors; children should be taught not to provoke animals; instead of having one large pound for stray dogs, there can be number of them in each locality and their care can be entrusted to NGOs; all ragpickers should be vaccinated against rabies; dog owners should obtain licence and regularly immunise their pets and the civic authorities should take residents' complaints about dog menace seriously.

S. Seshadri of RPC Layout, Vijayanagar, writes: "The pictures of children bitten by dogs are enough to show that it calls for immediately ridding the city of this menace. It is a misplaced sympathy for stray dogs on the part of animal rights activists. They have not experienced what it is to be bitten by a stray dog."

He says that since garbage bins have become the places around which street dogs roam for food, door-to-door collection of household waste is a better option.

He says that sterilised dogs may not procreate but they bark and bite. Stray dogs are seen in front of eateries, bakeries and butchers' shops.

Is vertical growth the way for the city

Is vertical growth the way for the city
Vijay Times

Even as the State government is planning satellite townships around Bangalore, the "vertical growth" mantra of real-estate developers is set to change the Citys skyline radically.

Balakrishna Hegde, president of Karnataka Ownership Apartment Owners Association (KOAPA), says, "Only vertical growth is the answer to a growing city like Bangalore. Moving away from the City is not feasible since far-off places dont have the infrastructure a buyer needs." Bangalore has already seen several highrises in recent years. While UB City is one of the latest, residential skyscraper complexes have sprung up near Hebbal, Kanakapura Road and other peripheral areas which are to come under Greater Bangalore.

J C Sharma, managing director of Sobha Developers, which has 15 high-rise projects around the City, says, "Highrises are a perfect way to mitigate the skyrocketing land prices in the City. It is a win-win situation for both the developer and the buyer." Real-estate developers feel highrises are the perfect answer to the congestion plaguing the City.

Ravi Purvankara, chairman of the Purvankara group, says, "The advantage of vertical growth is that there is a lot of land available around a building. There is a lot of space available for people. Also, highrises encourage community living." He notes, "Real estate brings in more people and generates more funds for civic bodies. The increase in funds can be used for infrastructural development in the City. Also, we develop infrastructure when we build highrises. We aid the government with infrastructural development." B M Jayeshankar, Chief of the Brigade group, feels the available land in the City is insufficient for the existing population. "The future is in vertical growth...and highrises are the best way to dodge air and noise pollution." However, low ground water levels in the City are a growing concern and skyscrapers and multiple dwelling units would add to the pressure on existing resources.

The nay-sayers

Leo saldanha, Environment Support Group

"Most developers in the City flout the norms in on other. Most highrises are energy, water and land-i will definitely have a telling effect on the City. highrises are not meant for the salaried class and middle-class as they are extremely fancy and cater customers, pushing the needy out of the city. This called development in the field of housing."

MR Srinivasamurthy, Former BMP Commissioner

"The main problem lies in the way vertical growth mented in the City. Vertical growth, as it is happ means progressive densification of the City. The p when highrises spring up in an area meant for inde houses, resulting in a mismatch in the facilities those required by the increasing population."

Sridhar Babu, Professor of Environment Science, Bangalore UNiversity

Certain areas in the City have progressively ground water reserves. The City has seen a decreas number of lakes, from approximately 130 to just 30 Also, agricultural lands which used to help in the of ground water are now being widely used to build and comemrcial complexes. We are also stopping the seepage of rain water as most of the roads are asp

Metro Rail: A noiseless option

Metro Rail: A noiseless option
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Metro Rail, once complete, will not only reduce traffic congestion is the city, but will also be quite noiseless, if decibel estimates are anything to go by.

According to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials, the sound from metro rail is estimated to measure an average of 72-80 decibels.

This is far below the maximum permissible levels of noise. As per the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the maximum level of noise that is permissible is 125 db. Other estimates revolve around two factors that influence damage to the ear from loud sounds.

One is the intensity of the sound and the other is the duration of exposure to the noise.

Thus, a person exposed constantly to 85 db for over 16 hours can suffer damage to the ear. Every increase of 5 db in the noise level decreases the exposure time by half.

Thus, by all standards, the metro rail will be quite noiseless. In fact, the ‘noise’ from rock and hard metal music bands go upward of 110 db, while jet planes produce noise to the tune of 140 db, sudden exposure to which can also damage ears.

The Metro Rail, even by conservative estimates, will produce lesser noise than the levels produced at an average traffic jam, thus reducing noise pollution in the City considerably.

With this, commuters in the City could well have another reason to welcome the project that is set to reduce the traffic congestion and the noise levels on roads.

Towards a clutter-free City Railway Station

Towards a clutter-free City Railway Station
A plan is in the works for a third entry to the Bangalore City Railway Station that would allow easier access for passengers. The Okalipuram Road side entry is also being modified with a seamless network of roads.

The Times of India


Bangalore: The South Western Railway is working on a proposal to have a third entry to the Bangalore City Railway station, on the Magadi Road side, to ease congestion in and around the station and to smoothen the daily flow of over 1.80 lakh passengers. This will be in addition to the main entry from the Kempe Gowda bus stand side (Majestic) and the second entry from Okalipuram side.
The third entry will come up adjacent to the Bangalore Metro Rail station on Magadi Road and will be integrated into it. This will be part of the World Class station project identified by the ministry of railways.
The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike will hand over to the Railways about 6,000 sq mts of land for the project, South Western Railway divisional railway manager (DRM) Mahesh Mangal told The Times of India. A concourse, a first floor station building, and a road-over bridge connecting all the 10 platforms will be constructed as part of the Rs 10-crore project.
There is also adequate space for a multilevel car park, which is part of the project. The Railways are appointing a consultant to prepare the plan for making Bangalore City Railway station a world class station. This will include better designed station structure, escalators, food courts, among other things.
SECOND ENTRY
Mangal said a proposal to build a seamless multi-level road network into the second entry of the Bangalore City railway station (Okalipuram Road entry) is in its final stages of clearance by the state government.
The Rs 30-crore proposal made by the BMP envisages a ramp entry into the station building area from the Majestic side, an elevated road entry from the Malleswaram side, another elevated link from the Rajajinagar side, a walkway for commuters coming by bus, and a similar exit plan for arriving passengers.
The proposal has received an inprinciple approval from the Railways after high-level meetings between the Railways, the state government and the BMP, the DRM said.
The proposal for improving the facilities on the second entry has a plan for a multilevel parking, apart from an underground tunnel on Okalipuram Road going under the tracks. The second entry currently serves platform number 7, 8, 9 and 10.
The design for the multi-level road network has been developed by Bangalore -based Manasa Consultants on behalf of the BMP. Some railway buildings, mostly houses, may have to go for realisation of this plan, and the railways have agreed to it.
Explaining the features of the project, Mangal said this would help improve the existing road network on the Okalipuram side, where there are traffic jams all the time. Railways is also allowing the BMP to put up the 150 metres tunnel for road traffic under the tracks. The project may take two to three years to be completed after the state government gives its final nod.
Meanwhile, the railways are also constructing a station building for the second entry with concourse area with booking counters and the works. The station building will be on the first floor and will be connected to all platforms through a road-over-bridge. The railways will spend about Rs 8.50 crore for the construction, which is awaiting Railway Board approval. The station building may take about two years to be ready, South Western Railway, Bangalore, senior divisional engineer Amith Garg added.
LIFTS FOR ALL PLATFORMS
The South Western Railway will build high capacity elevators with minimum carrying facility of 20 passengers at any given point of time, for all platforms of the Bangalore City station at a cost of a little over Rs 1 crore. Mahesh Mangal said that the lifts will be ready by end-2007.
In the first phase, two lifts will be installed immediately on platform number 1 and 8, and these will be ready by March 2007. The other lifts will be installed subsequently.
The structures for installing the lifts are already in place and no digging is necessary. “It is only lift installation, which takes three months. Work has already been sanctioned. Lifts on all platforms except number 4 will be installed and functional adjacent to the subway. Platform number 4 does not have adequate space for a lift.

BMTC riding along the path of profit

BMTC riding along the path of profit

The Hindu

It remains the only profit-making urban transport undertaking in the country

# It posted profit of Rs. 114.88 crore during 2005-06
# It has bettered its performance by Rs. 34 crore from last financial year



BANGALORE: A combination of better management skills, induction of modern buses and regular fare revision has helped the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to continue its robust performance for the eighth consecutive year.

It has posted a profit of Rs. 114.88 crore during 2005-06, bettering its performance by Rs. 34 crore from the last financial year. BMTC thus continued to remain "the only profit-making urban transport undertaking" in the country.

Loss

Its counterparts — BEST in Mumbai, DTC in Delhi, Calcutta STC in Kolkata and MTC in Chennai — suffered losses of Rs. 237 crore, Rs. 802 crore, Rs. 105 crore and Rs. 85 crore respectively during the period.

The corporation, which had incurred a loss of Rs. 7.82 crore in 1997-98 after its bifurcation from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), never looked back in subsequent years. It earned a profit of Rs. 3.96 crore in 1998-99; the figure rose to Rs. 80.01 crore in 2004-05.

Although commuters appreciated improvement in overall performance of BMTC, they were critical of the frequent upward fare revision. Commuters pay Re. 1 a km, which is equal to the fare collected by KSRTC for travel in air-conditioned inter-city Volvo buses.

While regular fare revision following hike in fuel prices has helped BMTC to perform well, its counterparts were discouraged to revise fares. Indeed, BMTC fares are the highest among those of urban transport undertakings in the country.

Fare revision

Apart from fare revision, continuous improvement in operational efficiency took the corporation to new heights while others lacked it, say industry experts. According to BMTC officials, better management skills including extensive use of Information Technology has helped the corporation to derive maximum output from its personnel. Regular induction of new buses and choosing the best of the drivers had enabled BMTC to derive maximum fuel efficiency, they said.

Higher fares compelled commuters to extensively use monthly and daily passes, which in turn reduced pilferage to a large extent by conductors.

Over three lakh monthly passes and an equal number of daily passes (Rs. 25) are being purchased by commuters.

Opening of new bus depots has also helped the corporation to cut costs and improve efficiency. At present, 25 depots enable operation of more than 4,000 schedules with 4,100 buses. BMTC operates 60,000 trips and clocks nine lakh effective kilometres ferrying 35 lakh commuters a day.

The depots not only act as maintenance centres, but also help operation of buses from the nearest points. BMTC riding along the path of profit

Anil Kumar Sastry

It remains the only profit-making urban transport undertaking in the country

# It posted profit of Rs. 114.88 crore during 2005-06
# It has bettered its performance by Rs. 34 crore from last financial year



BANGALORE: A combination of better management skills, induction of modern buses and regular fare revision has helped the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to continue its robust performance for the eighth consecutive year.

It has posted a profit of Rs. 114.88 crore during 2005-06, bettering its performance by Rs. 34 crore from the last financial year. BMTC thus continued to remain "the only profit-making urban transport undertaking" in the country.

Loss

Its counterparts — BEST in Mumbai, DTC in Delhi, Calcutta STC in Kolkata and MTC in Chennai — suffered losses of Rs. 237 crore, Rs. 802 crore, Rs. 105 crore and Rs. 85 crore respectively during the period.

The corporation, which had incurred a loss of Rs. 7.82 crore in 1997-98 after its bifurcation from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), never looked back in subsequent years. It earned a profit of Rs. 3.96 crore in 1998-99; the figure rose to Rs. 80.01 crore in 2004-05.

Although commuters appreciated improvement in overall performance of BMTC, they were critical of the frequent upward fare revision. Commuters pay Re. 1 a km, which is equal to the fare collected by KSRTC for travel in air-conditioned inter-city Volvo buses.

While regular fare revision following hike in fuel prices has helped BMTC to perform well, its counterparts were discouraged to revise fares. Indeed, BMTC fares are the highest among those of urban transport undertakings in the country.

Fare revision

Apart from fare revision, continuous improvement in operational efficiency took the corporation to new heights while others lacked it, say industry experts. According to BMTC officials, better management skills including extensive use of Information Technology has helped the corporation to derive maximum output from its personnel. Regular induction of new buses and choosing the best of the drivers had enabled BMTC to derive maximum fuel efficiency, they said.

Higher fares compelled commuters to extensively use monthly and daily passes, which in turn reduced pilferage to a large extent by conductors.

Over three lakh monthly passes and an equal number of daily passes (Rs. 25) are being purchased by commuters.

Opening of new bus depots has also helped the corporation to cut costs and improve efficiency. At present, 25 depots enable operation of more than 4,000 schedules with 4,100 buses. BMTC operates 60,000 trips and clocks nine lakh effective kilometres ferrying 35 lakh commuters a day.

The depots not only act as maintenance centres, but also help operation of buses from the nearest points.

KR Puram can’t wait for the merger!

KR Puram can’t wait for the merger!

Deccan Herald

Bangalore: Eager, hopeful and a tad apprehensive -- that sums up the mood among officials, elected representatives and the general public in the Krishnarajapuram City Municipal Council on the impending merger of their local body with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and other surrounding local bodies to form Greater Bangalore.

The population of K R Puram is 1,86,453 (2001 census); the current number is estimated at over 2.5 lakh. A large part of its working population has to make the daily trip to the City proper for work, and accounts for a major chunk of the peak-hour traffic on Old Madras Road.

Drinking water shortage, an understaffed local body and tax-dodging property owners are said to be the bane of K R Puram. Many layouts have cropped up in revenue lands over the past few years.

One argument goes thus: unauthorised as the layouts are, their residents do not a pay a penny to the CMC, but the CMC machinery is under pressure to provide them basic facilities for, after all, the residents are the votebanks for local politicians!

But Greater Bangalore is looked forward to mainly because the BWSSB will be dutybound to provide them drinking water.

There are also those who note that the success of Greater Bangalore will depend much on how effectively the available State and Central funds will be utilised.

Bare facts

What follows are some basic facts relating to K R Puram as it exists today:

About 15 per cent of the 44-sq-km area that makes up the CMC is industrial. HAL, ITI and the Devasandra Industrial Area account for it.

A total of Rs 3.11 crore was collected in tax by the CMC in fiscal 2005-06. This is set to go up substantially this fiscal as up to November the collection has been Rs 5 crore. This rise is attributed to the revised land value in the area. There are about 85,645 properties in the tax net, 78,789 of which are residential.

But while that is a plus factor, staff shortage is acutely felt in the CMC at the Group C and Group D levels. For example, though two stenographer posts are sanctioned, both are vacant. Much the same goes for water supply and sanitation, with 100 Group D posts sanctioned, but only nine filled. And for pourakarmikas? Of the 250 posts okayed, only 15 are on the job.

Waste management

As much as 60 tonnes of solid waste (from domestic and general commercial establishments) is generated each day. Cement cisterns as garbage bins at street corners and road junctions are still the order (Note that such public bins have been largely phased out in BMP.)

Though Stree Shakti has been roped in for door-to-door waste collection and dumping it in the bins, from which another set of contractors will collect and dispose it, the general public is not helping the cause: they just don’t want to pay the monthly collection fee of Rs 25.

The contractors are expected to collect and dispose the waste from the bins at the dumping yard at least once in two days, but they don’t seem to do it.

Water supply

While Cauvery water supply pipelines are still being laid, many a deadline for completing the same have lapsed. Result: 286 borewells and 50 hand pumps meet the larger part of the CMC’s water supply needs. A certain part of the needs is met through bulk purchase from the BWSSB (from the point of the feederlines available in Whitefield under Mahadevapura).

As for sanitation, soak/percolation pits are still the order of the day. Soak pits, mind, mean contamination of groundwater.

Rickety roads

The estimated length of the available road network is 390 km, only 20 per cent of which is developed. The development/upgradation of roads is awaiting the completion of water supply and sewage lines by the BWSSB.

But the BWSSB is too busy laying water supply lines and there is no saying when the sanitary or sewage lines will be laid.

As for the remaining green (read agricultural) space in K R Puram, Meddahalli, Bhattarahalli, Segehalli are some of the areas that still boast of a few ragi fields, coconut groves and banana plantations in the CMC areas.

REACTIONS

Poor tax revenues

GB will mean works will move faster and there will be more funds for development. Our council has approved a resolution even to forgo the remainder of our term in favour of GB. Non-payment of taxes has been our main problem. Since it is the SAS, people either pay no taxes or pay much less than they actually should. We’ve also lost out in the past few years because no betterment tax was collected.

Anthony Swamy, Chairman, CWC Standing Committee on Works

15 km is too long

Non-conversion has meant that we have not been able to allot even house numbers. How then can we collect property tax? We hardly get funds from the State government. We are just 15 km from the City proper. Shouldn’t we get higher grants then? GB will solve all this. The first task should be regularisation of constructions that have come up on revenue land.

Manjunath, two-time corporator

Sooner the better

CMCs suffer a lot because of funds crunch. We are in effect asked to sustain ourselves through unauthorised layouts. The sooner we have Greater Bangalore, the better for us.

Chandraiah,

former ITI officer and corporator

Another tangle in BMIC knot

Another tangle in BMIC knot
Deccan Herald

The controversy over the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project has taken a new turn with several landowners seeking return of their land while alleging that the government had acquired excess land in violation of the judgments of the High Court and the Supreme Court...

The controversy over the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project has taken a new turn with several landowners seeking return of their land while alleging that the government had acquired excess land in violation of the judgments of the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Contrary to the claim of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) which has been stating that all the judgements were in its favour, the landowners have now claimed that the verdicts clearly disapproved the demand for the “excess land” made by NICE. Several landowners have also shot off legal notices to the government through their advocates threatening that they would move the appropriate court if the authorities failed to annul the acquisition of “excess land” and restore the land in their favour. The government had acquired and handed over the land to NICE in excess of the requirement as mentioned in the Frame Work Agreement of the project in violation of the court orders, they have alleged. The landowners were banking on the direction given by the High Court in 1998 relating to a public interest litigation filed by one Mr Somashekara Reddy who had questioned the Frame Work Agreement signed by the government with the NICE.

The court had upheld the FWA and put the extent of land, required for the expressway project at about 6,999 acres. While acting on the recent petitions during 2005-06, the High Court and the Supreme Court had directed the government to execute the BMIC project as conceived originally and as upheld by the High Court in Somashekara Reddy’s case. This direction, the landowners have claimed, had not approved the extent of land sought by the NICE subsequent to the 1998 judgment.

The High Court in the 1998 verdict had approved the acquisition of a total of 6,999 acres of land — 4,528 acres for the 111-km expressway between Bangalore and Mysore and toll plazas along it; 2,193 acres for the 41-km peripheral road and 278 acres for the 9.8-km link road. Hence, only 2,471 acres of land was required for the project around Bangalore, they have claimed in the legal notice quoting the verdict.

The High Court and the apex court, the landowners have pointed out, in the recent verdicts have specifically asked the government to implement the project as conceived originally and as upheld in the 1998 verdict.

According to them, this direction has clearly disapproved of acquisition of land for the peripheral and link road around Bangalore beyond the extent of land approved by the HC in 1998.They have pointed out that the government had acquired 2,471 acres as per the FWA around Bangalore during 1998-99 itself and hence the lands acquired after 1999 were in violation of the judgments.

A NICE ROW

*NICE has been claiming that all judgements were in its favour

* Landowners say courts have spiked NICE’s “excess land”

demand

* According to them, the govt has given excess land to NICE in violation of the framework agreement

BMRC starts work on infrastructure for metro rail

BMRC starts work on infrastructure for metro rail

The Hindu

Pre-qualification tenders invited for construction of 24 stations

BANGALORE: Even as work on the first seven-km stretch of the metro is set to begin in January, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRC) has started the process of building the infrastructure for the remaining part of the network.

The BMRC has invited pre-qualification tenders for the construction of 24 elevated and at grade stations in the Phase 1 of the Metro at a cost of Rs. 323 crore in 10 packages.

Applicants who pass the qualifying tests laid down by the BMRC will be eligible to bid for the construction of the stations at a later stage. The qualifying entities will be asked to submit both technical proposals and financial bids separately.

The BMRC will open the financial quotations of those entities whose technical proposals are accepted. This is to ensure that the entities that are technically qualified alone get the work orders, sources in the BMRC said.

One of the conditions imposed on the future contractors is that they should have constructed concrete expanse that measures 15 metres. Another condition is that they should have constructed a deck with the top width measuring five metres or more either cast-in-site (built at the site itself) or by making pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete blocks elsewhere and erecting them at the construction site.

These two conditions come with an additional clause: the entities should meet the criteria without affecting the road or rail traffic. This clause, it is expected, will help the BMRC keep its promise causing "minimum obstruction to traffic" when the actual work is gets underway.

The BMRC has given time till 3 p.m. on February 5 for the submission of the tender to "reputed contractors." The pre-qualification documents will be sold from Tuesday to January 8.

The BMRC has stipulated that international applicants must have an Indian partner. The pre-qualification tenders will be opened on February 5 at 4 p.m. in the presence of applicants.

BMRC Managing Director V. Madhu had said that contract to construct seven stations and the elevated tracks in the seven-km stretch from Chinnaswamy Stadium and Byappanahlli, will be awarded by January. This stretch is expected to be completed by March 2009 at a cost of Rs. 110 crore.