The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) monthly meeting to be held on Saturday is likely to be stormy what with the Opposition parties — the Congress and Janata Dal (S) — raising the issue of the recent land scams and involvement of the Chief Minister's Office.
The meeting will prove to be a test for Deputy Mayor N. Dayanand who will have to step in for Mayor S.K. Nataraj. The Mayor has been unwell for the past few days and has now been hospitalised.
The Opposition leaders alleged that Adarsha Developers had encroached upon lake land at the behest of the Chief Minister's Office and that several BBMP officials are also involved in the scams.
Quantum of funds
Meanwhile, going by the meeting's agenda, the council will decide on the quantum of funds the Commissioner, the standing committees and Council can approve.
New proposal
According to the new proposal, the Commissioner, now empowered to approve projects worth Rs. 3 crore, can now approve only those below Rs. 60 lakh. The standing committees, which earlier had could approve projects to the tune of Rs. 4 crore, can approve those amounting to Rs. 2 crore.
The BBMP Council can approve projects worth Rs. 5 crore and any higher amount would have to be sent to the State Government for approval.
Also, ahead of the meeting, the Standing Committee for Taxation and Finance has agreed to grant Rs. 7 lakh for the Kannada Sahitya Academy.
The academy is hosting a three-day theatre festival and had sought Rs. 10 lakh from the BBMP.
Contact points
The council will also discuss whether to hand over four contact points of the BangaloreOne centres to the e-governance department. This decision was derived after a meeting with the Additional Chief Secretary in an attempt to reach out to more people in newly added areas.
