From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jan 30: Chief minister B S Yediyurappa directed completion of the tendering process on the 190-km long 12 high-density corridor works being taken up in the city by April and commencement of the work.
He gave the direction after reviewing the progress in the implementation of the Bengaluru Mission 2022 works in the city at a high-level meeting held in Vidhana Soudha on Saturday.
The chief minister also instructed the officials to complete the works on the remaining 32 roads in the heart of the city under the smart city project, which were planned to be upgraded, by May as barely five road works out of the 37 roads had been completed so far.
The 37 works are being implanted at a total cost of Rs 930 crore. Of these, five have been completed and 29 were under various stages of progress. Rs 109 crore has been spent on the project so far.
Yediyurappa asked the chief secretary P Ravikumar, who participated in the meeting, to hold fortnightly review meetings regularly to monitor the progress and sort out any difficulties.
Review of smart city road works
Officials were told to maintain the pedestrian pathways along the roads taken up under the smart city road works to be retained if they were in good condition in order to avoid unnecessary wastage of funds.
The chief minister was informed that work on the Kengeri line of the Namma Metro project would be completed by June and thrown open for public transport. The Kanakapura line had been completed and thrown open for public transport already.
Instructions were given by the chief minister to resolve all obstacles in the speedy completion of the works on Whitefield and Electronic City routes and expedite the completion of all the pending Namma Metro works.
Under the ambitious K-100 Rajakaluve beautification and developmental plans, tenders have already been invited for the development of 11 km of Rajakaluves. The Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board has already taken up the cleaning up of sewerage pipelines along the Rajakaluves, which are expected to be completed by next month.
Lake rejuvenation, development of gardens
The chief minister said the 25 lakes and tanks in the city which were taken up for revival and rejuvenation as well as protection of biodiversity will be implemented in a phased manner. The Bellanduru and Varthur lakes will be completely developed and was expected to be completed by February next year. The tender process has been completed.
With a view to help retain the city’s claim and fame as the Garden City, the chief minister said steps were being taken to maintain and protect the green cover all over the city.
Major gardens such as Turahalli, spread over 400 acre would be opened in April while the 102 acre garden at Kadugodi would be ready by May and the 98-acre Machohalli by June, Yediyurappa said.
The chief minister said the unified digital portal offering all civic services such as khata, property tax, birth and death certificates, approval of building plans, renewal of licences etc, is being simplified and the facility will be made available by the end of April.
Yediyurappa directed the officials to take steps for starting Bengaluru Ecology and Traditions Trust to implement the Experience Bengaluru project and also ensure that garbage and waste disposal in the city must be handled efficiently as the city was producing over 4,500 tonne of waste and garbage. He asked the officials to take steps for setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for a scientific waste disposal plant in the next 15 days.
Earlier, he inspected the smart city works along Race Course Road, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, Haines Road, Hood Street, Tata Lane, Capital Hotel-Raj Bhavan junction and Planetarium Roads.
The deputy chief minister, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, revenue minister, R Ashok, ministers Byarathi Basavaraj and K Gopalaiah, P C Mohan, MP and Bangalore Development Authority chairman, S R Vishwanath and other officials accompanied the chief minister.
In the morning, the chief minister paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi by garlanding his statue between Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha to mark the observation of Martyrs Day.
State assembly speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, revenue minister R Ashok, Primary and Secondary Education minister S Suresh Kumar, B A Basavaraj, MLA, P C Mohan, MP, and BDA chairman S R Vishwanath were present.