'Swiss Challenge' to improve city

'Swiss Challenge' to improve city
Saturday April 26 2008 09:30 IST

Basavaraj Itnal
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BANGALORE: IN a bid to decongest city roads, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is creating parking facilities on vacant land owned by it.

The civic body is also building roads on drains. To reduce red tape, Palike is adopting a newer method of tender process called Swiss Challenge Swiss Challenge Under the new system, developers can make voluntary proposals to develop infrastructure, instead of responding to a tender notification of the BBMP.

Once Palike accepts the proposal, the contractors would be given 60 days to prepare a detailed project report (DPR). If the DPR is accepted, Palike will then invite other players to challenge the proposal and make a better offer.

The contractor making the best offer gets the work. Parking on public land Though Palike had withdrawn paid parking lots on roadsides in 2005, government ordered it to be re-introduced. However, Palike stood by its decision to abolish paid parking on roadsides.

Now, BBMP has sent two proposals to the government; one to entrust local traders' associations to manage metered parking lots in 27 locations and another to use BBMP-owned vacant land in six locations to create multi level parking lots.

According to a Palike letter to the government, these locations are; Gandhi Bazar Flower Market, near Russel Market in Shivajinagar, opposite Sukhsagar Hotel in Gandhinagar, near old Central Prison in Gandhinagar, JC Road and SP Cross Road behind LIC Building.

Subhash Projects and Marketing Ltd (SPML) has submitted a proposal for the six locations and the same would be considered under Swiss Challenge.

The BBMP administrator has sent the proposal to the government, said sources. Roads on Drains It is perhaps the first such experiment that Palike has taken up using the top surface of storm water drains to make roads.

It has almost completed two stretches; Bull Temple Road - Kempambudhi Lake and Kempegowda Nagar main road - Samirpur. Apart from this, SPML has proposed to build, roads on four stretches on primary drains.

These include Koramangala Valley stretch, Double Road to Inner Core Ring Road (5.1km)

Chellaghatta Valley stretch, Old Madras Road to HAL Airport (2.7km)

Chellaghatta Valey stretch, HAL Airport to Bellandur Lake (4.2km)

Hebbal Valley, Outer Ring Road to Raja Sewage Treatment Plant. (2.7km). Built under public private partnership (PPP) model, all these roads would be toll roads.