₹8,000 Crore Push to Improve 2,500 km of Bengaluru Roads: Krishna Byre Gowda
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government is undertaking road-improvement works covering approximately 2,500 km across Bengaluru at an estimated cost of ₹8,000 crore, including asphalt resurfacing and white-topping, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said.
Reviewing development works and civic programmes being implemented across the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority at the GBA Council Hall, Byre Gowda directed officials to accelerate the road works, ensure strict quality control and closely monitor their execution. He also ordered an immediate survey and priority repair of potholes on the city’s arterial and sub-arterial roads.
The minister said the administration must move away from merely reacting to recurring civic problems and instead repair the systems responsible for them.
“Dysfunction has become the norm in the city. We have to change that. If officials and the government work together as one team, nothing is impossible. Let us work as one team to improve Bengaluru,” he said.
Road-improvement works covering approximately 2,500 km are being taken up at a cost of ₹8,000 crore under programmes including the Chief Minister’s Infrastructure Development Programme (CMIDP), State Special Infrastructure Programme (SSIP) and white-topping projects.
Byre Gowda instructed officials to expedite civil works already under way, maintain prescribed quality standards and conduct continuous field-level monitoring.
“Officials must work with dedication and complete the works without giving excuses. The quality of the work must be non-negotiable,” he said.
Officials were also directed to provide centre-line markings on roads wider than four metres. The minister noted that although edge markings were being provided on several newly developed roads, centre-line markings were often omitted.
With potholes continuing to be a major concern for motorists, Byre Gowda ordered a comprehensive survey of all arterial and sub-arterial roads and priority repairs.
“Once potholes on the major roads are addressed, the focus will shift to ward roads,” he said.
The minister also reviewed Bengaluru’s stormwater-drain network. The city has approximately 840 km of stormwater drains, or rajakaluves, within the GBA limits, of which around 640 km have already been developed.
The remaining 200 km will be developed at an estimated cost of ₹2,000 crore. The programme will be formally launched by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Officials were directed to construct shoulder drains wherever required so that rainwater flowing onto roads can drain smoothly into the stormwater-drain network.
Byre Gowda said improvement of governance systems must receive the same priority as physical infrastructure.
“Citizens should not have to keep visiting government offices to get their problems resolved. If the system works properly, many problems can be resolved at the local level itself,” he said.
He announced that he would hold monthly ministerial-level review meetings to monitor progress. The Urban Development Department’s Additional Chief Secretary and the GBA Chief Commissioner will also conduct regular reviews and issue specific directions to officials.
“Only when officials perform effectively can we provide better governance. When the administration responds properly, citizens too will respond positively,” the minister said.
Byre Gowda directed officials to strengthen the grievance-redressal mechanism under Sahaaya 2.0 and ensure that complaints are resolved within a reasonable period.
Citizens have so far registered 75,152 complaints through Sahaaya 2.0. Of these, 73,985 have been resolved, while 1,152 remain pending.
Noting that some complaints were taking longer than expected to resolve, he instructed officials to dispose of them quickly. He also ordered senior officers to re-examine selected complaints marked as resolved and submit a report on their actual status.
“Sahaaya 2.0 needs to become more effective. We will upgrade the system, consult citizens after the upgrade and incorporate the changes required to make grievance redressal faster and more effective,” he said.
The minister directed officials to replace faulty streetlights immediately and accelerate the installation of LED streetlights across Bengaluru. Contractors who fail to perform their work properly will face penalties, he said.
The five city corporations under the GBA have a combined property-tax collection target of ₹6,700 crore for the current financial year. So far, ₹3,382 crore, or 50.48% of the target, has been collected.
Byre Gowda instructed officials to speed up the collection of outstanding property tax, particularly from long-term defaulters and in cases involving tax reassessment.
“Revenue officials who fail to make adequate progress will be issued notices,” he said.
Encroachment-clearance drives have so far been conducted along footpaths covering 1,175 km of roads. The minister directed officials to expedite clearance on the remaining roads and ensure that cleared footpaths are not encroached upon again.
He said footpath development must be taken up simultaneously with encroachment removal instead of leaving cleared stretches undeveloped. On roads measuring 40 feet or less, footpaths should be constructed without raising them unnecessarily high, he added.
Byre Gowda also directed ward-level officials to intensify the “Freedom from Waste” campaign across Bengaluru. Even small quantities of waste found along roadsides and footpaths must be removed, and ward officials must take responsibility for keeping their respective areas clean, he said.
Among his other directions, the minister instructed officials to expedite approval of pending e-Khata applications, speed up the conversion of eligible B-Khatas into A-Khatas, further accelerate white-topping works, ensure construction materials at project sites do not obstruct pedestrians, continuously monitor all ongoing works and maintain prescribed quality standards.
Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Giri Nath, GBA Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, Special Commissioners Muneesh Moudgil and Nithesh, city corporation commissioners Ramesh D.S., Pommala Sunil Kumar, Ramesh K.N., G. Jagadeesh and Dr. Rajendra K.V., Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Corporation Chief Executive Officer Karigowda, additional commissioners, joint commissioners, engineers, revenue officials, health officers and officials from various departments attended the meeting.
About the Author
