The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : BMP awaiting report from committee on roadworks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 11, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

BMP awaiting report from committee on roadworks

Staff Reporter

The civic body files affidavit before the Karnataka High Court The civic body files affidavit before the Karnataka High Court

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) on Wednesday said it had constituted a fact-finding committee to look into specific complaints about roadworks. The committee had already met and its report is awaited.

The BMP made these submissions in its additional affidavit filed before the Karnataka High Court on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition in which the corporation's inability to maintain roads had been questioned.

The court had on September 12, 2005 constituted an expert committee to monitor ongoing roadworks and submit bi-monthly reports. The affidavit, signed by BMP Commissioner K. Jairaj, said it had placed five reports before the court. It said the additional affidavit was being filed following court orders.

It said on September 4, 2006, the court had directed the BMP to include members of the expert committee in the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which had been constituted to monitor the implementation of the expert committee recommendations.

The BMP said it made "strenuous" attempts to implement the recommendations of the committee.

It said suggestions on preparing estimates for roadworks as per the Indian Road Congress norms, following the Transparency Act, setting up a Technical Vigilance Cell and other measures had been implemented.

It said it was taking up major infrastructure projects, including grade separators, flyovers, underpasses, pedestrian subways, sidewalk improvement and road widening, multi-level car parks and improvement of road junctions. The feasibility report of these projects would be placed before the TAC for approval. The petitioner, K.N. Subba Reddy, sought time to file his response to the affidavit. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice B.S. Patil adjourned further hearing on the case.

Adjourned

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice B.S. Patil on Wednesday adjourned hearing on a petition seeking expeditious election to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and challenging the appointment of an Administrator to the BMP.

When the matter came up, the Government advocate informed the court that the final notification on constituting the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was sent to the Governor for his assent.

Early election sought

The petitioner, a former councillor of BMP, sought early elections to the BMP and alleged that the proposal for constituting the BBMP was only a pretext to postpone elections.

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