Increased funding for urban mobility

There could be some relief to the traffic-choked Bengaluru, with fresh proposals on development of roads on the city’s outskirts, and increased funding for urban mobility — suburban railway, BMTC and pedestrian safety.

While suburban railway system has been proposed to get ₹345 crore, BMTC will add 3,000 buses to its fleet (1,500 to be leased). Nearly 200-km network of footpaths will be developed at a cost of ₹200 crore and a gap funding of ₹80 crore has been set aside to give a fillip to build skywalks, both of which are expected to help ensure pedestrian safety. Twelve high-traffic density corridors and traffic engineering works across the city will be taken up at a cost of ₹350 crore, and the Public Works Department will develop four roads on the city’s outskirts at a cost of ₹1,455 crore.

Following the government’s climb down on the controversial steel flyover project, the budget proposes widening of Hebbal flyover.

A sum of ₹50 crore has been earmarked to build 1,000 public toilets.

Apart from these, many of the proposals made for Bengaluru — which took the lion’s share of the plan last year, with a total outlay of ₹7,300 crore to be spread over two years — are spillovers from the previous budget. This budget, however, does not mention how much of the allocation has been spent already and how much will be available this year. Though rejuvenation of Varthur and Bellandur lakes, which have been frothing, have been mentioned, funds have not been allocated for the work.