Are you stressed out by the poor condition of major roads in the core city area? Tired of the back-breaking commute? There's good news, at least on paper: the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has chosen 45 roads in the core city area, measuring a total of 73 km, to be developed jointly by it and the State government under Tender SURE (Specification for Urban Road Execution).
According to a Government Order (GO), the BBMP had initially identified 20 roads to be developed at a cost of Rs. 100 crore. After discussions, the number was increased to 45, at a total cost of Rs. 200 crore. This cost will be shared equally between the BBMP and the government. According to a senior BBMP official, the Bangalore City Connect Foundation (BCCF) is preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for 12 roads, while the civic body has entrusted six agencies to prepare the DPR for the remaining 33.
Co-ordination
The GO mandates government approval for projects exceeding Rs. 5 crore. The BBMP has been told to follow all rules and regulations laid by the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act. All the government agencies, including BBMP, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bangalore Traffic Police, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, and utilities such as Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) have to comply with the requirements during the planning and implementation of the project.
Workshops planned
The GO also states that these roads should have a new road-cutting protocol which will have to be framed by the BBMP in consultation with all the utility agencies. The BCCF will also plan workshops for engineers of the BBMP and the BDA on Tender SURE guidelines and practices. It will prepare detailed designs, drawings, execution plans and traffic management plans for the 45 roads.
In October 2011, the government and the BCCF, in a public-private initiative, brought out two volumes on Tender SURE as a single-point reference for design, procurement and execution of urban roads.
