KRDC wing to undertake City development

By S. Rajendran

BANGALORE, JAN. 9. The State Government has decided to constitute a special wing in the Karnataka Roads Development Corporation (KRDC) in an effort to commence certain major infrastructure works in the Bangalore Metropolitan Region, immediately.

The decision to hasten the pace of infrastructure development in Bangalore, obviously to meet the demand for better roads following the increase in traffic beyond the planners' projections, has been taken at the highest level. The special wing for the development of Bangalore will be constituted in a few weeks and it will get going with its assigned work shortly. This will result in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) being divested of infrastructure projects and assigned only routine maintenance work.

The Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, told The Hindu here that he had decided to assign the construction of flyovers in Bangalore to the KRDC, which had made its mark. The image of the BMP had been sagging over the years and the Government thought that it was not prudent to load the civic authority with additional work, he added.

Mr. Krishna, who was recently in Hong Kong for a year- end vacation and also in Chennai where he witnessed fast-paced construction of quality flyovers, said: ``The special wing of the KRDC would be directed to construct short and quality flyovers, grade separators and bridges, and widen the existing roads. I want quality work to be done on schedule. I don't want flyovers such as the Sirsi Circle-Hudson Circle Flyover which cost around Rs. 100 crores and is hardly being put to use. Flyovers should not be big, ugly structures. They should ease traffic congestions at road intersections''.

He said no purpose would be served by giving additional funds to the BMP. ``The corporation can proceed with its regular work of keeping the City clean. It should raise resources and spend money on the upkeep of the City. There is no point in the Government giving it grants on a regular basis,'' Mr. Krishna said. The reference was obviously to the Rs. 125-crore Municipal Bond Scheme for road improvement and maintenance. Although a huge sum has been spent on road works, the people have hardly seen a change for the better. However, ``one of the important changes in the BMP in recent months was the computerisation of its accounting procedures,'' Mr. Krishna said.

The Chief Minister, who would be shortly holding a meeting with senior officials to discuss the infrastructure development of Bangalore, said the special wing of the KRDC would comprise four senior officials - Mr. V. Balasubramaniam, Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Public Works, Mr. L.V. Nagarajan, Chairman and Managing Director of the KRDC, Mr. Jayakar Jerome, Commissioner, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), and Mr. Shantanu Consul, Commissioner, BMP.

On the availability of funds for infrastructure development in Bangalore, Mr. Krishna said financial assistance was available from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation. The Government had obtained loan of nearly Rs. 1,000 crores from HUDCO and, of that, Rs. 100 crores had been earmarked for the BDA. With the BDA now turning cash-rich following its creditable performance over the past year, the Government had decided to divert the HUDCO loan earmarked for it to the special wing of the KRDC, he added.

The Chief Minister said the State funds would be utilised for the development of Bangalore, since the City was the gateway to the State, like Hong Kong was to China and Chennai to Tamil Nadu. The infrastructure in Bangalore had not kept pace with the rapid advancements made in various sectors.

Mr. Krishna said the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) had contributed its bit, although there was still a long way to go. ``People such as the Infosys Managing Director, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, for whom time is money, have been in the BATF, apparently owing to their commitment to the cause of Bangalore,'' the Chief Minister added.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Fake certificates seized, two held
Next     : Krishna's fiat to BMP