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Bengaluru, Oct 21 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, on Tuesday said officials have filled 10,000 potholes across the city.
He was speaking after inaugurating white-topping and integrated road development works in Gandhi Nagar assembly constituency in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said, “We have filled more than 10,000 potholes across the city. During the previous Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, an affidavit was filed in the court stating that there were 20,000 potholes in Bengaluru.
“The court was reviewing it. But it is the Congress government that has empowered people to report these issues. If you find a pothole or garbage near your house, take a photo and send it to the government – this is the system we have created.”
“Nobody told you this before. This is an initiative taken by our government under the leadership of Siddaramaiah and me,” he said.
“We must forget the old and bring a new vision. Just as Nadaprabhu Kempegowda built Bengaluru, we are now laying the foundation for its transformation.
Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said, “Our aim is to develop Bengaluru at par with international standards. The decisions we are taking now will be remembered by people in the next 10 years. We cannot change things in a day, but we are fulfilling our responsibilities step by step.”
Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said, “Recently, PM Modi had called Bengaluru a global city. Vajpayee had said the world sees India through Bengaluru. Even former US President Barack Obama had praised Bengaluru, saying it competes with the US.”
“To bring government administration closer to the people, we have taken the historic decision to divide Bengaluru into five municipal corporations and create the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). This decision will yield long-term benefits. Bengaluru does not belong to DK Shivakumar – it belongs to its people,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said, “The Congress-led government has formulated many pro-people programmes. Opposition parties also cooperated during the formation of the GBA. This is because there is a perception that Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar take clean and effective decisions. Politically, they may oppose us, but we consulted everyone under the leadership of Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad and formed the GBA unanimously.”
“Be it waste management, advertising policy, or premium floor area ratio (FAR) decisions taken during BJP’s tenure – all of these have faced court injunctions. But our government has the courage. We presented our arguments confidently before the court,” he said.
“We are preparing a detailed project report (DPR) to white-top 500 km of roads in the city at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. Bengaluru has a total of 1,650 km of major roads, and currently, white-topping work is being done for 104 km,” Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said.
“White-top roads have a lifespan of around 25-30 years. Already, 148 km of white-topping work is underway. A total of Rs 1,800 crore is being spent on the development of 83 roads.
“Besides, black-topping work is being done on 182 roads spanning 350 km at a cost of Rs 695 crore. The Chief Minister has sanctioned another Rs 1,100 crore, with which we are tarmacking 550 km of roads,” Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said.
“In the last cabinet meeting, we approved the construction of the 117 km long ‘Bengaluru Business Corridor’. As per Bangalore Development Authority rules, double compensation is not allowed.
“However, our government is ready to give bumper compensation to farmers – three times the current rate, along with transfer of development rights or FAR. No previous government had the courage to do this, even though it was decided in 2007-08,” CM Shivakumar said.
–IANS
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