The Hindu

BANGALORE, Oct 3: The Karnataka government has decided to develop seven tier-two cities encompassing all the Revenue divisions in the State.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has termed the programme “Looking beyond Bangalore,” funds for which will be provided by the State.

All the seven city municipal corporations, including the recently-formed Davangere City Corporation, will receive a special grant for the development of infrastructure. The cities will get special attention with regard to the development of air connectivity irrespective of the fact that some of them already have airports. For certain major projects, the government has decided to provide financial guarantee so as to enable the municipal corporations to raise funds from financial institutions.

Sources in the State Secretariat told The Hindu here that the programme was aimed at changing the face of the seven cities that include Belgaum and Hubli-Dharwad in Belgaum division; Gulbarga and Bellary in the Gulbarga division, Mysore and Mangalore in Mysore division; and Davangere in Bangalore division. A few days ago, the Chief Minister informally reviewed the progress made in implementation of the programme, the aim of which is to not only decongest Bangalore, but also prevent migration of people from rural areas to Bangalore.

Special grant

Under the programme, each of the seven cities will receive a special grant of Rs. 100 crore for the development of infrastructure including ring roads and flyovers, and beautification of public parks and lakes. The special grant for the tier-two cities is apart from the funds received from the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). While Bangalore and Mysore have received funds under JNNURM for a number of infrastructure projects, the State government has requested the Centre to include cities such as Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli-Dharwad and Gulbarga under the mission.

The government has also set up task forces headed by the district in-charge Ministers to monitor the development work in the seven cities. In Mangalore, the government has opted for further expansion of the international airport.