Bengaluru: BBMP presents ₹11,157.83 crore budget for 2023-24, gives push to infrastructure

The Metropolitan Bengaluru Municipal Corporation administration presented a budget worth ₹11,157.83 crore for the year 2023-24 on Thursday, emphasising infrastructure improvement with a focus on easing traffic congestion, building grade separators, white topping roads, and improving connectivity.

Calling it an 'Atma Nirbhar Budget', the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Special Commissioner (Finance) Jayaram Rayapura said, "While the total receipts will be ₹11,163.97 crore, the total expenditure will be ₹ 11,157.83 crore, thereby resulting in a surplus budget of Rs 6.14 crore."

The budget was presented with a firm belief in the norm, "stretch your legs as much as your bed" and is aimed to bring financial discipline, self-reliance and self-sufficiency in the BBMP's finances, he said.

Traffic congestion to be eased

Among the proposals are construction of 10 new city plazas in residential areas at a total cost of Rs 50 crore, Rayapura said in his budget speech. To address traffic congestion at bottleneck areas, widening of roads will be taken up at a cost of Rs 150 crore.

Rayapura said in his budget address that one of the suggestions is to build ten new municipal plazas in residential neighbourhoods at a cost of ₹50 crore. Road widening would be undertaken at a cost of ₹150 crore to alleviate traffic congestion in bottleneck locations.

The proposals also include the construction of 75 key junctions. At a cost of ₹200 crore, an integrated overbridge would be built from Yeshwantpur Railway Station to New BEL Road in collaboration with Suburban Railway to provide direct access to Mathikere, Sanjay Nagar, and Yeshwantpur. Three flyovers have been planned from Gokula Road near Mathikere turn at Rs 40 crore, ORR-Pipeline Junction at Jalahalli at ₹65 crore, and Sadashiva Nagar Police Station Circle at ₹40 crore to relieve traffic congestion in Bengaluru.

The BBMP has set aside ₹450 crore for the comprehensive development of 350 kilometres of arterial and sub-arterial roads under the 'Light Tender SURE' methodology. Rayapura said an elevated rotary flyover and seamless connecting flyover will be built at a cost of ₹345 crore to provide connectivity to Sir M Visvesvaraya Train Station in Baiyappanahalli. He stated that ₹300 crore has been set aside for the repair of  the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board-excavated roads in 110 villages, he added.

Published on: Friday, March 03, 2023, 10:41 AM IST