BMPC to be constituted after bypolls

Government open to the idea of elevated corridor

The highly anticipated Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) will be constituted after the bypolls in the State, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan said. He was speaking at an interaction at The Hindu office in the city on Saturday.

“The notification of the new Revised Master Plan – 2031 has been stuck because of the absence of the BMPC. We will rectify this mattersoon,” he said.

Elevated corridor

When asked on the future of the elevated corridor project, he said the government had an open mind on the project and was in the process of reviewing its feasibility. “We are open to the idea. We are working on various solutions to improve mobility in the city – metro, suburban rail, road infrastructure and even elevated corridors. We are looking at how a person travelling across the city can avoid going through the core city. If the elevated corridors are an effective solution why not do it,” he said, indicating that the project was not scrapped yet.

Legal issues

Incidentally, the BJP had opposed the implementation of the elevated corridor when it was announced by the previous Congress-JD(S) government.

“The project has also faced legal hurdles in the High Court as it had not been tabled before the BMPC. Once we constitute the BMPC the project will be discussed and a decision will be taken,” he said.

The Deputy CM said the road history project, for which work orders have been issued, has a January 2020 deadline to go live. “Once the portal goes live, any work on the roads – asphalting, road cutting even by other agencies – have to be approved through the portal itself,” he said.

Minto hospital fiasco: Third party test in Kolkata

Samples of the eye drops that allegedly caused adverse effects in cataract surgeries at Minto Eye Hospital, have now been referred to Central Drug Testing Laboratory, Kolkata, said Deputy Chief Minister and Medical Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan.

The external experts committee report formed by the State government had held the pharmaceutical company which manufactured the eye drops were responsible for the botch up. “But the company has contested the findings of the committee. So we have sent for a third party testing to Kolkata. The report is expected in a week. The police have also taken up an independent investigation,” he said.