BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday expressed displeasure over Bengaluru lagging in tax collection and tax collection is not on expected lines. He appealed to the residents and industrialists to pay taxes in proportion to their properties owned.
He told reporters in Bengaluru that Bengaluru city has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 30 years and the growing city has thrown a challenge of tackling not only vehicular congestion but solid waste management, drinking water, housing among others.
Regarding the steps to ease traffic congestion, he said that 8 places have been identified and steps would be initiated to address traffic congestion at these places first and stated that illegal congestion responsible for traffic congestion would be razed down. “There is no question of buckling under political pressure in razing down structures blocking smooth flow of traffic in Bengaluru city,” he added.
Shivakumar said clearing encroachment of storm water drains has not come to halt in Bengaluru city but officials concerned are taking up the clearance of storm water drains on priority basis.
Adding, he said, officials concerned have been given a free hand in clearing encroachments and the State Government would not interfere in encroachment clearance.
Over potholes in the city, he said to have directed officials concerned to initiate action to fill-up potholes by November and asked the residents to bring it to the notice of the officials concerned if any potholes in their vicinity for initiating action to fill-up.
Both police and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials have been asked to identify and fill-up the potholes and adequate funds for filling-up potholes would be released, he said.
On the peripheral ring road, Shivakumar said, the demand for peripheral ring road has gone up and the construction of peripheral ring road has been hit by legal hurdles and expressed that works on peripheral ring road would have begun by now that there have been no legal issues.
