The budget, tabled in the assembly on Thursday, also proposed to distribute BDA sites and 30,000 houses. It also suggested that the BDA would rejuvenate and develop 29 lakes in the city.
Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has proposed a budgetary allocation of Rs750 crore for developing Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda, Arkavathy and Shivaram Karanth layouts.
The budget, tabled in the assembly on Thursday, also proposed to distribute BDA sites and 30,000 houses. It also suggested that the BDA would rejuvenate and develop 29 lakes in the city.
Experts, however, felt there was nothing new in the budget regarding development of layouts and distribution of sites. Yet, they opined that the allocations were a positive sign, which would translate the old promises into reality.
Public Affairs Centre director R Suresh termed the announcements made in the budget speech as old promises, but said the only new thing was that the BDA wanted to do it now. “But one should also find out what happened to funds allocated earlier to the same projects. While giving them more money is fine, it is also important to analyse the functioning and efficiency of the BDA,” he opined.
Suresh said 30,000 houses, as proposed in the budget speech, was too little considering the need of the city. “But it is a start at least. The additional allocation of `750 crore for layouts is also not new, but there will be some work on the ground now, which is a positive aspect,” he added.
Sajjan Poovayya chairman of Karnataka State Council, FICCI- Karnataka and eminent lawyer, felt that Yeddyurappa should be credited for walking a tight rope. He felt the government should have a housing mission, much on the lines of its agricultural mission.
“Housing is the need of the hour,” he said, adding that the reference to layout formation was just a general mention. “Specifics allocations should have been made, which would help in monitoring the development,” he said.
Poovayya sounded disappointed at the chief minister confining the rejuvenation of lakes to Bangalore city alone. “It should not be limited to Bangalore alone, but should be spread across Karnataka, which has the second largest number of arid lands in India, after Rajasthan.”
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