BBMP under pressure: Councillors question delay in road widening projects
Rajarajeshwarinagar MLA Munirathna reportedly said that though 14 roads were notified for widening, only a handful has been widened so far. He asked Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike commissioner to transfer the Goraguntepalya junction underpass work to the Bengaluru Development Authority so that at least then the land acquisition and work will take place sooner, reports stated.
FollowBengaluru: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner N Manjunath Prasad stated in the municipal council that the civic body will open offices on Bannerghatta Road, Sarjapur Road and Begur Road. He was responding to the questions regarding the delay in completing road widening works.
The decision to open offices in these three stretches has been taken to help residents who will be losing a portion of their properties due to widening of these roads, reports stated.
According to reports, Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy said on Friday that the work on Bannerghatta Road is still far from complete though the work has been going on for two years. He said that though the initial plan was to widen it to 150 feet, it has been widened only up to 80 feet. The project has been delayed further as there has been no steps taken towards the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) to which the citizens had agreed, he reportedly said.
The BBMP commissioner while explaining the procedure for TDR, reportedly said that the government had empowered the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) in March to issue TDR. The BBMP was in charge of issuing it until then.
Prasad added that the civic body apart from opening offices on the three roads slated for widening, it will also coordinate with the BDA officials to ensure that TDR is issued to citizens in a time-bound manner.
Former mayor, BN Manjunath Reddy had earlier sought to know when the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the widening of Bannerghatta Road had been prepared, reports said. He reportedly alleged that a lot of preliminary work had been done and that several stones and slabs used for stormwater drains were stolen right under the noses of BBMP officials.
Meanwhile, Govindarajanagar councillor Umesh Shetty alleged a scam in the issue of TDRs. He reportedly said that though the TDR has been issued, the civic officials have not taken possession of the land. He said that khatas for the same land parcels have been made by the officials. He said that there has to be a proper investigation regarding this issue, reports stated.
Agreeing to this Rajarajeshwarinagar MLA Munirathna reportedly said that though 14 roads were notified for widening, only a handful has been widened so far. He asked Manjunath Prasad to transfer the Goraguntepalya junction underpass work to the BDA so that at least then the land acquisition and work will take place sooner, reports stated.
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