BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the peripheral ring road will be converted into an economic corridor.
Responding to the calling attention motion by MLA Shailendra Beldale in the Legislative Assembly, he said, “It has been 15 years since the project was proposed. Previous governments tried to start this project, but they failed as no one came forward to bid for the tender. So now the plan is being changed and it will be rolled out in the PPP model. The tender for this project has been called and February 29 is the last day for tender submission.
The project requires an area of 2596 acres, of which only 220 acres is government land, and the rest is private land.”
“Even though there is a court order about compensation for this land, we have decided to discuss this issue in the cabinet and help the farmers. I have assured the farmers that we will not de-notify this land again and we will implement the project. It is estimated that Rs 24,000 crores is required for this project,” he said.
When MLA TB Jayachandra pointed out that 200 lakes of Shira taluk should be filled, DK Shivakumar replied, “Already 4.5 TMC of water has been allocated for rejuvenation of groundwater in Koratagere, Chikkanayakanahalli, Sira and Madhugira taluks.”
“The MLA also raised concerns that it has become difficult to store rainwater in the lakes of Shira. The groundwater level has depleted in this region and the people are drinking water containing fluoride. Responding to this, DK Shivakumar said that he would discuss the issue with MLA and come up with a solution. “The Yettinahole project is a big challenge for our government, and we will complete it as soon as possible,” he added.
Speaking about the issue of transfer of land rights in the case of apartments, MLA Ravi Subramanya said that since the title of the plot on which apartments are constructed remains in the name of the landowner, landowners are taking loans on that plot even after the sale of flats. Due to this, after the expiry of the life of the apartment building, the flat owners will not have any rights during the reconstruction. He pointed out that a separate law should be brought to address this.
Responding to this, Shivakumar said, “There is already a law on this issue. Regular developers are not doing this. My own firms have constructed many apartments. After the construction of the building, the title of the land is handed over to the apartment owners association Illegal builders are doing this kind of mischief. Now we also have RERA since 2016. Some builders may be doing this. That’s why we are conducting a survey of all properties in Bangalore. Once the survey is done, let us bring a law to ensure that apartment residents’ association becomes the owner of the land,” he said.
When MLA ST Manju drew attention to the alleged irregularities in the work related to Stone Guard on the left canal of Hemavati River, DK Shivakumar said, “Regarding this matter, only the bill which was in the approved rate list was paid according to the report of my department. It has also been informed that no poor-quality work was found. However, as the MLA has raised allegations, we will again send a separate team to investigate. If there are any irregularities, justice will be ensured. If you have any proof regarding this irregularity, please provide us. Earlier, a complaint was made to the Lokayukta regarding this matter. A committee consisting of Venkataram and Channabasappa, who were technical advisors to then CM Kumaraswamy, investigated the matter in 2021 and reported that there was no irregularity. Now that you have again said that there is irregularity, I will have it reviewed once again,” he said. (ANI)