Bangalore: With the BBMP’s finances in doldrums, experts suggest it is time it curbed its wasteful expenditure and stopped building unwanted infrastructure for the city.
Pointing out that the underpass at Tagore Junction was built despite strong opposition from the public, a former top officer of the civic body says such civil works are draining BBMP’s funds “About 30 per cent of the works taken up in wards is unwanted or redundant,” he says.
Former opposition leader in the BBMP council, M. K. Gunashekar too stresses that wasteful expenditure must be curbed. “The administration must be streamlined as the BBMP has created more posts than it needs and is paying a hefty salary to these officers. The cars and mobile phones given to low rung engineers must be withdrawn and procuring of new vehicles stopped.
Officials and corporators must stop going on foreign junkets until the BBMP becomes financially stable,” he underlines, also suggesting that the agency reassess its properties given on lease and its joint ventures to make sure that it collects rent or lease on par with the market fee.
“Lack of financial discipline is glaring in the absence of auditing over the last three years and the BBMP has not taken any measures to recover Rs. 750 crore as suggested by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG),” he regrets.
