Enough for city drains under JNNURM

Enough for city drains under JNNURM

Former chief engineer of BWSSB says that the amount under the mission is sufficient to address the city's flooding problems

Senthalir S. Bangalore



Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, on Monday, stated that though the union budget has enhanced Central assistance for solving the flooding problems that plague Mumbai and West Bengal, Bangalore has been given the cold shoulder. However, MN Thippeswamy, former Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) chief engineer, thinks differently.
Speaking to DNA, he said that what the city needs right now for ensuring proper flood management is not funds, but a better plan to implement the storm water remodelling project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The amount available under JNNURM – which comes up to about Rs600 crore – is enough to address the problem of flooding, he added.
Currently, work is in progress on all the four major drains in the city: Vrishabhavathi Valley, Koramangala Valley, Hebbal Valley and Chellaghatta Valley. "Though tenders have been awarded to different contractors, they are not moving at a fast pace. Now, we have to concentrate on executing the job," Thippeswamy said.
Stating that there is no point in asking for more funds when the state already has enough, the former BWSSB official said, "While the approved amount for the work at Hebbal Valley is Rs18,474 lakh, Koramangala Valley will get Rs 11,149 lakh. The amount allotted to Chellaghatta Valley and Vrishabhavathi Valley – on the other hand – is Rs11,877 lakh and Rs 22,826 lakh respectively."
Desilting of drains was taken up in June 2000, based on a report submitted by former BBMP consultant G Aswatha Narayana. He was appointed to conduct a study on the city's storm water drains, following a directive from the High Court in 1999.
In a recent development, the state government had proposed the upgradation of 850 km of storm water drains at a cost of Rs4,000 crore. A detailed project report, which is being made specifically for this, will be submitted in two years.