Bearing in mind the fact that Bengaluru contributes the lion’s share of Karnataka’s GDP, the government has proposed several measures for development work within the city, proclaimed CM Siddaramaiah as he read out budget allocations for 2017-18.
He recalled that an outlay of Rs 7300 crore was made for the development of the city’s infrastructure and welfare, adding that the grant extends to 2018. "The action plan of the works has been approved and these works are at different stages of implementation" Mr Siddaramaiah said, remarking that the entire amount will be spent by March 2018.
What does the Karnataka budget 2017-18 have in store for us? Here are some of the highlights:
Keeping an eye on the upcoming election in 2018, Siddaramaiah has allocated Rs 100 crores for the "Namma Canteen" initiative, devised along the lines of Tamil Nadu's Amma Canteen which aims to provide food at subsidised rates for the common man. These will be opened in all 198 wards and will serve breakfast at Rs 5 and lunch at Rs 10.
The budget proposes to develop Stormwater Drains (SWD) in BBMP limits. The CM has also allocated Rs 50 crore to build 1000 toilets across the city. Mr Siddaramaiah has proposed to develop 43 major roads (about 80 km in length) with white topping and upgrade them with pedestrian facilities at a cost of Rs 690 crores.
"25 interconnected roads of 25 km length in Central Business District (CBD) will be comprehensively upgraded under the Tendersure model (3rd stage) at a cost of Rs 250 crore", Mr Siddaramaiah said.
In order to ensure seamless traffic movement, grade separators will be built at nine busy junctions (which have already been identified), at an estimated cost of Rs 421 crores. The budget proposes a grant of Rs 200 crore for traffic engineering works like building road humps, lane marking, signage, medians etc.
12 high-density traffic corridors have been identified. These will be developed and maintained at a cost of Rs 150 crore. Further, to build the railway over bridge and under bridge, Rs 150 crore will be allocated to BBMP.
200-km of footpaths will be built along various roads at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore. Another Rs 80 crore has been earmarked for the construction of skywalks.
Arterial road to connect Mysuru Road, Magadi Road
The CM has, in his budget proposed to build arterial roads measuring 10.7 km that will cut through Kempegowda layout to connect Mysuru Road with Magadi Road at a cost of Rs 350 crore.
Commercial hubs will be developed at five spots along this road, under the Public Private Partnership mode. A proposal has also been made for the building of a modern, model township spread out across 166 acres in Konadasanapura village.
Recalling that 12 lakes were developed at a cost of Rs 75 crore in the previous years, Mr Siddaramaiah has earmarked Rs 42 crore for the integrated development of 10 lakes, including the pollution-afflicted water bodies in Bellandur and Varthur.
Over bridge at Hebbal junction of Outer Ring Road will be widened and an under bridge will be constructed at an cost of '88 crores, announced the CM.
Traffic bottlenecks at Silk board and K.R. Puram junctions will be eased through the development of these areas in collaboration with the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), he said.
Govt acted on land grab after we approached court: Rajeev Chandrasekhar
In his budget, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has stated that his government has successfully recovered a total of 2.02 lakh acres of encroached government land throughout the state. Over 5325 acres worth about Rs 1 lakh crore, was recovered from Bengaluru city alone.
However, Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) claimed the government took action only after the foundation sought legal action. They had filed a Public Interest Litigation (WP No. 15500/2013) on March 28, 2013.
The PIL directed the state government to recover land illegally grabbed by private persons / institutions / trusts / societies / NGOs and other organisations.
“The government’s actions over the last four years reveal a double standard when it comes to highly-influential persons, land grabs, encroachments or BBMP demolitions. Public land granted for a particular is sold or repackaged illegally through several transactions for some other use, with original grantees, builders, and officials involved. This speaks of connivance by the government and its officials to allow land grabbing," said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha member.
He said that recovery of government land came more than three years after the PIL. He demanded that the government account for the remaining land that continues to be encroached, issue a statement naming the list of encroachers and take action against them and errant officials.
An excellent, visionary, youth-oriented budget: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon
An excellent budget! The government has been extremely sensitive to the needs of young people, by removing VAT from alcohol and reducing the cost of cinema tickets.
Increasing the tax on luxury vehicles is a very good idea as well, a measure one has hoped to see for a long time. The emphasis is on public transport, through the introduction of 150 electric buses. Again, this is a very progressive measure.
The Namma Canteen initiative is one of the highlights of the budget - Karnataka appears to be following Tamil Nadu's example. Initiatives in the healthcare segment are also good.
It seems as if the government has focussed on all the right things. Karnataka, Bengaluru in particular, is very youth-fuelled. The budget seeks to provide young people with a better quality of life by putting more money in their hands. Now, they will have more to spend.
The Karnataka budget 2017-18 is well-thought out and consumption-oriented. Overall, I give it a thumb's up.
