Bengaluru, July 15 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has announced that five corporations will be formed under the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and elections will be conducted soon.

He was speaking at the meeting of the state, district, and taluk-level office-bearers of the Guarantee Scheme Implementation Committees held on Tuesday at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office, Bharat Jodo Bhavan. Shivakumar, who also serves as KPCC President, addressed the gathering.

“GBA (Greater Bengaluru Authority) has been constituted, and under this, we are determined to form five corporations. A committee under the leadership of MLA Rizwan Arshad has been formed for this. Some may oppose this publicly, but from an administrative standpoint, it must be done,” he said.

“Once the corporations are formed, our party workers must be given positions and recognition. We have decided this and must lay the groundwork accordingly,” he said.

“D.K. Shivakumar alone cannot bring a government to power — it is the workers who are the lifeblood of the party. We may take decisions at Vidhana Soudha, but party workers are the ambassadors of the government. Our future — and Bengaluru’s — is in your hands,” he stated.

“Our government has allocated Rs 1 lakh crore for the welfare of society and the poor. Out of this, Rs 50,000 crore has gone to guarantee schemes, Rs 19,000 crore for free electricity to farmers’ pump sets, and about Rs 11,000 crore for pensions. We are spending 25 per cent of the state budget on people. You must remind the public of this service — it is your responsibility,” Shivakumar appealed.

“Thanks to bank nationalisation, banks now reach people’s doorsteps. Mid-day meals, Anna Bhagya — these are all revolutionary programmes. People living in ‘hattis’ and ‘tandas’ had no land documents. We distributed documents to them free of charge. Recently, 1,11,111 such documents were issued,” Shivakumar stated.

“Our government has not just given five guarantees — we have also given a land guarantee. In Bengaluru, we’re planning to deliver property records to people’s doorsteps. Many owners don’t even know whose name their property is registered under — often it’s their grandfather’s or great-grandfather’s. We are correcting and issuing new records. This programme was conducted in Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s constituency, where thousands of workers went door-to-door, helped residents fill applications, and participated in the process,” Deputy CM Shivakumar said.

When asked about BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s remark that the tunnel road project opens the door to corruption. He said, “Tunnel roads are being built in Delhi, Mumbai, and across the country. Why are they being built there? Why is the opposition only here?”

“I’ll reply to him (Tejasvi Surya) later. Whatever we do, they will criticise. The BJP has always been anti-development. Their contribution to Bengaluru is zero,” Shivakumar slammed.

When asked about the allegation that the Metro DPR was copied to prepare the Tunnel Road DPR, he said sternly, “I won’t respond to him. The Metro is the Congress party’s contribution.”

–IANS

mka/uk