Rs.1,391-crore budgetary support for Bengaluru infrastructure

Bengaluru, March 13 (IANS) With an eye to the upcoming elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the Karnataka government on Friday proposed allocation of Rs.1,391 crore in the 2015-16 state budget to development of infrastructure in this tech hub, which suffers from infrastructure woes.

Presenting the budget for FY 2016 in the state legislative assembly here, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Rs.1,000 crore would be provided under the Nagarothana scheme and Rs.391 crore out of grants from the state and central finance commissions for the various development works in and around Bengaluru.

"We are determined to develop Bengaluru, which has brought international recognition to the state. Rs.2,879 crore has been provided to the BBMP during the last two years for various infrastructure projects across the city," he told the lawmakers in Vidhana Soudha.

In addition, the state government proposes to spend Rs.1,500 crore on widening of seven arterial roads to decongest commercial and residential areas and prevent grid locks on thoroughfares for speedy vehicular movement across the city.

"The infrastructure works include development of main junctions, construction of grade separators in select places under civic limits, construction of railway over/under bridges and development of backward areas in seven city municipal corporations, which have been merged into the civic body (BBMP)," the chief minister said.

The state government has also earmarked Rs.270 crore to set up six units by the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation across the city for treating 2,800 tonnes of solid waste per day.

"To provide housing to the lower and middle class denizens of this city, the state-run Bengaluru Development Agency will construct 5,000 flats in the city for the applicants during the ensuing fiscal as against 5,700 flats built in this fiscal. We have allotted 859 flats so far," said Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio.

To prevent road mishaps, the civic body will build skywalks at 25 places across the city under the public-private partnership.

The chief minister has also promised to allot about 5,000 housing sites during next fiscal in the Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda layout in the city's northern suburb.