Bengaluru, Oct 21 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also Bengaluru Development Minister, stated on Tuesday that the authorities have filled 10,000 potholes across the city.

He was speaking after inaugurating white-topping and integrated road development works in the Gandhi Nagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Dy CM Shivakumar stated, “We have filled over 10,000 potholes across the city. During the previous Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, an affidavit was submitted to the court stating there were 20,000 potholes in Bengaluru.

“The court was reviewing this. But it is the Congress government that has empowered people to report these issues. If you find a pothole or garbage near your home, take a photo and send it to the government — that’s the system we’ve created.”

“No one told you this before. This is the initiative taken by our government, under Siddaramaiah and me,” he said.

“We must forget the old and bring a new vision. Just as Nadaprabhu Kempegowda built Bengaluru, we are now laying the foundation for its transformation.

“Our goal is to develop Bengaluru to international standards. The decisions we are making now will be remembered by the people in the next 10 years. We can’t change things in a single day, but we are fulfilling our responsibilities step by step,” Dy CM Shivakumar asserted.

“Recently, PM Modi called Bengaluru a global city. Vajpayee had said that the world sees India through Bengaluru. Even former U.S. President Barack Obama praised Bengaluru, saying it competes with America,” Dy CM Shivakumar added.

“To bring government administration closer to the people, we have taken a historic decision to divide Bengaluru into five municipal corporations and create the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). This decision will yield long-term benefits. Bengaluru doesn’t belong to D.K. Shivakumar — it belongs to its people,” he stated.

“The Congress-led government has designed many pro-people programmes. Even Opposition parties cooperated during the creation of GBA. That’s because there is a belief that Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar take clean and effective decisions. Politically, they may oppose us, but we consulted everyone — under the leadership of Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad — and formed the GBA through consensus,” Dy CM Shivakumar noted.

“Whether it’s waste management, advertisement policy, or the premium Floor Area Ratio (FAR) decisions taken during the BJP’s tenure — they’ve all faced court injunctions. But our government has courage. We presented our arguments confidently before the court,” he said.

“We are preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to white-top 500 kilometers of roads in the city at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. Bengaluru has a total of 1,650 km of major roads, and currently, white-topping is being undertaken for 104 kms,” said Dy CM Shivakumar.

“White-topped roads have a lifespan of around 25–30 years. Already, 148 km of white-topping works are underway. A total of Rs 1,800 crore is being spent on the development of 83 roads.

“In addition, black-topping work is being carried out on 182 roads covering 350 km, at a cost of Rs 695 crore. The Chief Minister has sanctioned another Rs 1,100 crore, with which we are taking up asphalting of 550 km of roads,” Dy CM Shivakumar explained.

“In the last Cabinet meeting, we approved the construction of a 117-km-long ‘Bengaluru Business Corridor’. As per Bangalore Development Authority rules, double compensation is not allowed.

“However, our government is ready to provide bumper compensation to farmers — three times the current rate, along with Transfer of Development Rights or FAR. No previous government had the courage to do this, even though it was decided back in 2007–08,” y CM Shivakumar noted.

–IANS

mka/rad