The rent for some of the shops allotted in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP’s) markets ranges from just 10 paise to Rs. 4 per sq. ft! Revealing this at the council meeting on Friday, Yediyur councillor N.R. Ramesh pointed out the need to raise the rent to prevailing rates.
Collection
“The BBMP can collect at least Rs. 300 crore [thus] but it has collected only Rs. 30.46 crore as rent from the 6,451 shops in 101 markets in South, East and West Zones,” he pointed out.
In the South Zone, of the Rs. 4.39 crore to be collected as rent annually from 1,371 shops in five markets, the BBMP got only Rs. 1.33 crore. Similarly, in the West Zone, it got Rs. 2.19 crore as rent from 3,005 shops in 50 markets and Rs. 93.82 lakh as parking fees, while in the East Zone, it collected Rs. 22.93 crore from 2,075 shops in 46 markets.
Potholes after rain
With just a few spells of rain, the city roads are riddled with potholes, Opposition Leader M.K. Gunashekar said, and charged the Engineering Department with having failed to get contractors to maintain the roads for a year after they have been laid.
Mayor Murthy said the rains had worsened their condition, and road cutting by various civic agencies didn’t help either.
“I will direct Commissioner Rajneesh Goel to meet the zonal commissioners and chief engineers. By September-end, all potholes should be filled,” Mr. Murthy said.
The council passed a resolution banning manufacture and use of plastic bags, even those that are more than 40 microns thick, in the city. This resolution will now be sent to the State government for approval though the previous ban on plastic less than 40 microns have not been implemented fully.
Mr. Murthy said as plastic was mixed with garbage, the farmers were not ready to take garbage as manure. To this, Ruling Party Leader N. Nagaraju said that the Commissioner must devise an action plan for 100 per cent implementation of the ban.
Single-window system
Mr. Nagaraju said the BBMP must put in place a single-window system to clear applications to set up segregation centres at ward level. “Clearances can be given in three to four days, pending approval from the BBMP council. Construction, if any, can be entrusted to Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd.,” he added.
Posters, buntings
The council also resolved to ban posters and buntings in public places. A fine of Rs. 1,000 will be levied on first-time offenders and Rs. 5,000 on subsequent violations. This was after Pattabhiramanagar councillor C.K. Ramamurthy pointed out that BBMP’s wall paintings were being disfigured by posters and pamphlets pasted on them.
