Ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Thursday (2 March) presented its budget, with a major focus on public works in Bengaluru.
Jayaram Raipura, the BBMP’s special commissioner for Finance, presented a budget of Rs 11,157.83 crore for the year 2023-24, giving a push to development of flyovers, junctions, building grade separators, and white topping of roads.
The budget has been presented with a firm belief in the norm, “stretch your legs as much as your bed” and is aimed to bring financial discipline, self-reliance and self-sufficiency in the BBMP’s finances, he said.
Let’s take a major proposal related to infrastructure in the budget:
1. New Flyovers
- Amidst citizens opposing flyovers, the BBMP has announced 15 flyovers and underpasses in various parts of Bengaluru.
- This includes three flyovers from Gokula Road near Mathikere turn at Rs 40 crore, ORR-Pipeline Junction at Jalahalli at Rs 65 crore and at Sadashiva Nagar Police Station Circle at Rs 40 crore.
2. City Plaza
- Construction of 10 new city plazas in residential areas at a total cost of Rs 50 crore
- New zones in BBMP limits will be developed at the cost of Rs 2 crore each.
3. Traffic Decongestion
- Widening of roads at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore to address traffic congestion at bottleneck areas which includes development of 75 major junctions.
- Grade separators will be built at Wilson Garden at Rs 85 crore, at Yelahanka flyover at Rs 60 crore, Hoody Junction-ITPL Big Bazaar-Hope Farm at Rs 124 crore, Minerva Junction at Rs 137 crore, and Suranjan Das Junction to Old Madras Road at Rs 104 crore.
4. Improvement of Rail Connectivity
- An integrated over bridge would be constructed from Yeshwantpur Railway Station to New BEL Road in collaboration with Suburban Railway to provide direct connectivity to Mathikere, Sanjay Nagar and Yeshwantpur at a cost of Rs 200 crore.
- An elevated rotary flyover and seamless connecting flyover will be constructed at a cost of Rs 345 crore to provide better connectivity to Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Station at Baiyappanahalli.
5. Road Improvement
- The BBMP will take up white-topping on 150 km of road at a cost of Rs 1,410 crore in 2023-24.
- Rs 450 crore has been earmarked for comprehensive development of 350 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads on ‘Light Tender SURE’ model.
- BBMP has earmarked Rs 20 crore for maintenance of arterial and sub-arterial roads, and roads constructed under TenderSURE and Smart City schemes.
- A sum of Rs 300 crore has been earmarked for reconstruction of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board-excavated roads in 110 village.