Karnataka budget 2012:Rs 5,500 crore fillip for roads, metro

Bangalore, Mar 22: With Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda successful in presenting the state budget 2012 with enough impetus to the needs of the common man. In spite of the crisis the Karnataka government is facing, thanks to BS Yeddyurappa, Gowda has managed to appease the masses by proposing to spend Rs 5,500 crore in the ensuing fiscal (2012-13) towards the infrastructure demands of the buzzing IT hub.

Gowda during the course of his budget presentation has been quoted as saying, "The state government has approved phase two of the Bangalore metro rail project to extend the high-speed service across the city covering 72 km more by 2017-18 at a cost of Rs 26,405 crore."

With the Bangalore's IT hub facing serious infrastructure issues, the allocation in the budget will help in the poor public transport and traffic snarls the city faces. He added in his budget speech, "The entire phase one covering 42.3 km from east to west and south to north is scheduled for completion by Dec 2013. An outlay of Rs 500 crore has been provided for the metro project in the next fiscal."

On the ambitious metro rail project, as part of the first phase an area of 6.7 km from the city centre to eastern suburb that commenced on Oct 2011 and another 10.4 km will be opened for commutation by the year end.

On the issue of the traffic snarls that has gripped the city, as per the budget there are proposals by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to take up the work of five signal-free corridor projects covering 52 km across the city at a cost of Rs 426 crore in the fiscal under review.

As part of the budget proposals, Gowda added, "Eight parking complexes will be built in the city at a cost of Rs 200 crore, while solid waste management centres will be set up at a cost of Rs 200 crore during next fiscal." The civic body will also be allotted Rs 1,000 crore for funding major infrastructure projects, including road widening, parking and other amenities. He also said, "The state government will come out with a policy to facilitate vertical instead of horizontal development in Bangalore. To preserve lakes and water bodies, I am making a budgetary allocation of Rs 50 crore to protect, restore and rejuvenate lakes across the city."

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