Making a candid confession, mayor SK Nataraj on Monday said that he was not happy with his performance and blamed the delayed budget and shorter officer term (one year) fixed for the post.
Making a candid confession, mayor SK Nataraj on Monday said that he was not happy with his performance and blamed the delayed budget and shorter officer term (one year) fixed for the post.
Nataraj, who will demit office in the second week of April, read out a written speech to the media, trying to make a weak attempt at presenting a positive picture of his tenure.
“The mayor’s term should be extended to at least two-and-half or three years. I have not asked for an extension. The government has to decide,” Nataraj said.
He also failed to give satisfactory replies when queried on various civic issues plaguing the city. “The government has not yet decided on whether to give water to the CMCs that were added to city limits. Temporarily, borewell facilities are being strengthened,” he said when asked about water scarcity.
Certain pro-people measures like increasing the block period to five years from three for revision of property tax had been initiated. Efforts like Geographical Information System (GIS) and others techniques are being employed to bring tax evaders under the net and increase the property tax and revenue to the BBMP. So far, the BBMP has earned Rs1,061 crore as against the target of Rs1,600 crore. About three lakh new properties had been brought under the tax net, Nataraj said.
He said that the Akrama Sakrama project not becoming a reality was partly because of the deficit.
He claimed that initiatives such as rainwater harvesting and solid waste management were getting the attention they needed.
“Recharge pits along storm water drains would be created. A global tender has been called for segregation of waste and collection points for dry waste had been established,” he said.
Replying to a query, Nataraj said that road widening would take place only if there was a dire need for it and after holding public consultation. The public would be either given Transferable Development Rights or the monetary benefit, said the mayor.
Funds for tarring of damaged roads had been sanctioned and they would all be done in the coming two months, he said. For the protection of BBMP property, Rs10 crore had been set aside. A separate act for Bangalore was still being discussed, he said. However, he refused to claim credit for his performance.
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