Ahead of the upcoming Assembly and Bengaluru civic body polls, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in Karnataka has announced ₹9,698 crore-worth projects in the State Budget 2023-23 for comprehensive development of Bengaluru city.

On Friday, in his Budget speech, Mr Bommai said that under the Amrutha Nagarothana Scheme, works worth ₹6,000 crore are being implemented in Bengaluru. Development of 108 km of roads has been taken up under the high-density corridors scheme at an estimated cost of ₹273 crore.

After Bengaluru was flooded due to heavy rains last year, “to ensure that there is a free flow of rainwater and to avoid flooding, ₹1,813 crore has been provided for the development of 195 km of drainage and culverts in the city,” he said.

Around 250 well-equipped ‘She Toilets’ will be constructed in heavily populated markets, mega commercial complexes, etc in the city. State-of-the art design including toilets, feeding room, mobile charging, emergency SOS services etc. will be taken up at a cost ₹50 crore in these complexes.

Measures to ease traffic

A total of 75 junctions for traffic control will be developed in Bengaluru at a cost of ₹150 crores, Mr Bommai announced in the Budget. Artificial intelligence will be used for seamless signal synchronisation and other functions, he said.

To reduce the traffic congestion, the government proposed construction of a 5-km elevated road at a cost of ₹350 crore from Tin Factory to Medahalli and an integrated flyover from Yeshwanthpur railway station to Mathikere and BEL Road by providing direct access.

The white topping project of 120 km arterial roads in Bengaluru at a cost of ₹1,000 crore and development of 300 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads in the city at a cost of ₹450 crore has also been announced for the pothole-filled roads in the city.

The government plans to repair roads of 110 villages in the BBMP limits by providing ₹300 crore for their reconstruction. It has also proposed a modern tech flower market for Bengaluru.

High-powered Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority is constituted in order to coordinate the operations of various transport agencies and to find out the scientific remedies to mitigate the traffic problems of the fast-developing city.

To reduce traffic congestion considerably, construction of a satellite town ring road of 288 km of length at a cost of ₹13,139 crore has been approved by the Union government. The state government has agreed to pay 30% of land acquisition cost required for this project.

Green signal for suburban rail project, Namma Metro network to expand

For proper usage of Sir M Vishveshwaraiah terminal at Baiyappanahalli, access roads around the terminal will be comprehensively developed and necessary works will be taken up at a cost of ₹300 crore to reduce traffic congestion.

Third phase of works relating to Namma Metro network were proposed in the previous budget. A detailed project report for two corridors of 44.65km length with 31 stations has been submitted to the Union government. The estimated cost is ₹16,328 crore for this project. The work will be taken up after the Centre’s approval, CM Bommai said.

Approval has been given by the State government and Ministry of Railways for implementation of Bengaluru suburban railway project at a cost of ₹15,767 crore which was a long-standing demand of Bengaluru residents. The work on the first phase is already underway and this project will be completed in the year 2024-25. Grants of ₹1,350 crore from the Central government and ₹1,000 crore from the State government will be provided in the current year.

The work order for Bengaluru suburban railway project between Chikkabanavara and by corridor-2 via duct for ₹860 crore has been issued and works have commenced.

At present, the Bengaluru Metro Rail scheme is operational in a 56-km network. The line connecting the Central Silk Board junction and Kempegowda International Airport of 58.19 km length with 30 stations is under progress at a fast pace. There is a plan to operationalise a 40.15-km length metro route in the coming years.

Waste management, flood control, water supply

Several actions will be taken for processing of waste produced in the city. Auto tippers and compactors designed for collection of dry waste and wet waste in the same vehicle will be operationalised. For processing of waste, a modern technology-based odourless waste processing unit will be established in each ward.

Thrust will be given to process the waste locally by mandating the producers of the large quantity of waste, including commercial complexes, hospitals and hotels, to process the waste at their level itself.

To mitigate the ill-effects of climate change and control floods in Bengaluru, a project assistance of the World Bank at a cost of ₹3,000 crore will be implemented. Sluice gates will be installed at all the tanks to control the flood situation under this scheme. It will help in controlling the speed and quantity of flow of water.

The works of Cauvery Water Supply Scheme stage-5 has been undertaken at an estimated cost of ₹5,500 crore with financial assistance of JICA. These works will be completed in the year 2023-24. Completion of 775 MLD capacity scheme will help in providing potable water to 50 lakh people of the city.

Financial assistance of ₹200 crore will be given to Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board from the state government for implementing the second phase of providing water to 11 villages coming under BBMP.

At present, 1,850 MLD effluents are being produced in Bengaluru, out of which 1,500 MLD effluents treatment capacity has been created. The capacity of 350 MLD will be added to treat all the effluents in the city.

Construction works of four new effluent treatment plants with total capacity of 440 MLD at cost of ₹1,200 crore have been taken up under mega city revolving fund.

More BBMP schools, Namma Clinics

To provide health services at an affordable cost, apart from Namma Clinics in 243 wards and 27 smart virtual clinics which were approved in 2022-23, 50 dialysis beds and 300 bedded super-speciality facilities have been established, Mr. Bommai said in his speech. To improve the health administration system, he proposed to re-constitute the Mahanagara Health Administration as ‘Bengaluru Health Systems’.

Twenty Bengaluru public schools announced in the 2022-23 budget have been implemented. Further, a scheme for development of BBMP schools at a cost of ₹180 crore is prepared under Amrutha Nagarothana Scheme and the works will be completed in the year 2023-24.

Ten lakh saplings have been planted every year upto 2022-23. From 2023-24 onwards, this will be increased to 15 lakh saplings. The chief minister also announced a proposal to establish three high-tech nurseries in coordination with the forest department.

To prevent the encroachment of BBMP property and to ensure its protection, fencing, erecting boards and surveillance through GPS software will be undertaken at a cost of ₹35 crore.

To infuse faith in the weaker sections of the society, especially women, the Safe City Project under the Nirbhaya scheme is being implemented on a war footing with 4,100 cameras already installed in 1,640 places. Safety measures taken will be monitored by providing access to these cameras to the integrated control and command centre. A grant of ₹261 crore will be provided to complete this scheme in the current year.

The budget has proposed a revenue surplus of ₹402 crore, breaking the trend of revenue deficit budgets for the past two years

February 17, 2023 10:08 am | Updated 02:59 pm IST

Aided by a buoyant economy, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai presented a ‘please-all’ revenue surplus budget with no tax hike on February 17, less than 100 days ahead of Assembly elections in the State. The budget outlay has, for the first time, crossed the ₹3 lakh crore mark, and is pegged at ₹3,09,182 crore, up from ₹2,65,720 lakh crore in 2022-23.

READ MORE

Fiscal deficit has been reined in at ₹60,581 crore, or 2.60% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). With borrowings of ₹77,750 crore, the liabilities at the end of 2023-24 are pegged at ₹5,64,896 lakh crore, or 24.20% of GSDP, thereby satisfying all parameters of Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2002.

The budget has proposed a revenue surplus of ₹402 crore, breaking the trend of revenue deficit budgets for the past two years, when the budgets did not comply with the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2002.

Also read: Ceiling for interest-free loans to farmers increased from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh

The Budget speech is also being seen as a poll pitch for the ruling BJP and an exercise in “articulating the legacy” of Mr. Bommai. CM Bommai had earlier described the Budget as a “Budget for the voiceless”, with a focus on “farmers, working class, poor, and women”, setting its political tone.

Here are the latest updates: