Yediyurappa pulls up Bengaluru civic body for delaying projects

Bengaluru, June 10 (IANS) Upset over delay in completing the smart city projects, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Wednesday pulled up the city civic body officials.

"Though I have instructed the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) to complete the 27 smart city projects by May 31 before the monsoon sets in, the works are incomplete, as evident from piles of mud and craters on both sides of the roads," he said at a review meeting with civic officials.

As the southwest monsoon has arrived and is set to intensify in the ensuing weeks, the Chief Minister asked BBMP Commissioner Gaurav Gupta by when the pending works would be completed.

"I have daily observed that the incomplete road works in the city's central business district are a hindrance to the public and for VIP movement. They are a hurdle for the movement of people and vehicles," he said.

The smart city projects Chief Engineer, however, assured him that the works would be completed by June 30.

Expressing disappointment over the slow progress of the projects, funded by the Central and state governments under the urban renewal mission, Yediyurappa said he gave a priority list to the civic body after personally inspecting the works in February-March.

City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant brought to the Chief Minister's notice that the incomplete works were causing traffic congestion across the city.

The Chief Minister directed the civic officials to speed up works and complete them at the earliest to avoid inconvenience to the public.

Yediyurappa also reviewed the expansion of metro rail network across the city and the suburban train service project, which have been delayed due to the lockdown.

The second phase of the metro rail project is under construction to extend the service by 66 km at a cost of Rs 33,070 crore.

"As the metro service cannot become profitable only through fare collection, commercial spaces along its lines and stations should be utilised to generate income," Yediyurappa told the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd officials.

Reviewing the status of the 148 km suburban train service expansion project, he directed the South Western Railway (SWR) and the Urban Development Department to complete the construction works at the earliest to ensure decongestion of roads.