With hundreds of families living in deplorable conditions in temporary structures at the housing quarters for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) at Koramangala, several councillors from the Janata Dal (S) and Congress wanted the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to construct houses for them under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
The councillors were up in arms over the conditions endured by these families. They said the public-private partnership with Maverick Holdings to construct 1,640 houses and use eight acres at Koramangala to construct a 14-floor commercial complex must be scrapped. The issue came up on Thursday in the BBMP Council when the subject of recording the government order on the issue was deferred.
Shantinagar MLA N.A. Harris said for the past 10 years, the residents of EWS quarters have been living in 10ft x 10ft tin shacks. He urged Mayor Sharadamma and Commissioner Siddaiah to take up the housing project soon and “not defer such an important subject.”
JD(S) Floor Leader Padmanabha Reddy said that the BBMP itself must take up construction of houses. He said that the BBMP will lose property worth crores if the PPP is implemented.
Mr. Reddy questioned the Commissioner's move to confer upon executive engineers the power to call for tenders. He sought to know how and why and under which Act it was done. He also wanted to know about the Commissioner's own sanctioning powers.
Mr. Siddaiah replied the decision had been taken to reduce the administrative delays. “They are the main reason for the delay in taking up development works in the city. The executive engineers have only been given the powers to call for tenders. We have to simplify processes and must decentralise powers,” he said.
As for his own powers, he had brought down the sanctioning limit to Rs. 50 lakh from Rs. 3 crore even before the Government issued an order in this regard.
Condoled
Cutting across party lines, several senior councillors mourned the death of former MP and Mayor V.S. Krishna Iyer. Mr. Reddy urged the Council to name a prominent road after him, while Basavanagudi Councillor B.S. Sathyanarayan said that a BDA layout could be named after him. Former Mayor S.K. Nataraj suggested that J.P. Nagar 7th Phase could be named after Krishna Iyer.
