Karnataka - Bangalore   

`Separate budget head for Metro significant achievement'

Staff Reporter

Yediyurappa says State will pressure Centre for more funds

BANGALORE: The Rs. 30-crore budgetary allocation for the Bangalore Metro Rail project may be small. But the creation of a separate budget head for the mega project is seen as a significant achievement for the project, considered the answer to the city's mass transportation woes.

Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa dismissed the allocation as a "token amount" and said the State Government will pressure the Centre to release more funds for the project.

Mr. Yediyurappa, who holds Finance and Infrastructure portfolios, told The Hindu that a delegation from the State will meet Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram demanding additional allocation. With such low allocation, the project will take 25 years to complete, he said.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) Managing Director, K.N. Srivastava said the creation of a separate budget head for the Metro Rail reflected the Centre's seriousness about the project.

He said that the stage is now set for the Centre to appropriate funds from other budget heads and allot it for the project. This process is likely to start once the project gets its final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The approval can come as early as March 15, according to Mr. Srivastava.

Mr. Srivastava said Rs. 30 crores is only a token allotment for the project and this will be increased soon. "If the budget head is not there, money cannot be appropriated from other heads. Now that it has been done, the allotment will begin," he said. Reiterating Mr. Srivastava's point, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) president S. Babu felt that the Centre will release the required amount in phases. The allocation of Rs. 30 crores is only a first step, he said.

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