Big projects to be put on fast track

Big projects to be put on fast track

The Hindu

Metro alignment coming in the way of Toll Gate underpass work; Freedom Park in June



BANGALORE: To sort out problems of shifting utility lines for the execution of infrastructure projects in the City, a meeting of officials from all civic agencies will soon be convened under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Health and Family Welfare Minister R. Ashok said here on Wednesday.

He was speaking to presspersons after inspecting the Mathikere Railway Overbridge (ROB), West of Chord Road-Magadi Road underpass and Freedom Park on the premises of Old Central Jail premises.

The Minister said he was aware that such problems were the main reason for delay in execution of various projects. "Work on the Mathikere ROB and West of Chord Road-Magadi Road underpass is lagging behind schedule because the agencies executing these projects are finding it hard to shift the utility lines.

"The presence of major underground service lines is known only after the road is dug up for the project and there is always a debate as to whether the executing agency should bear the cost or the service providers should shift the lines on their own," the Minister, who is also in-charge of Bangalore Urban District, said.

Noting that the 550-metre West of Chord Road-Magadi Road underpass was coming in the way of the metro alignment and had affected work, the Minister said he would call officials from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which was executing the project, to sort out the problem.

He said the modified plan of the underpass came in the way of metro alignment. "The plan had to be modified because as per the original plan, the Shani Mahatma Temple near the Toll Gate junction in Vijaynagar had to be demolished. This is a famous temple and there has been a lot of opposition from the devotees. So we will discuss with BMRCL officials and sort out this problem," the Minister said.

When officials assured him that work on the Rs. 30-crore project would be completed in seven months after the problem with Metro was solved, the Minister directed them to complete it by July.

Freedom Park

The Minister inspected work on the Freedom Park and directed the BMP officials to complete it quickly. The BMP officials told the Minister that the work would be completed by June. Work was delayed because tenders for the project had been called in 2004 and work orders were issued in 2006, the officials said.

When Gandhinagar MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao pointed out that the original project cost of Rs. 8.74 crore was likely to escalate by fifty per cent, the Minister said the Government would discuss this with the contractor.