State proposes three satellite towns for Bengaluru

 The State government has proposed to the Centre to develop Ramanagara, Devanahalli and Tumakuru as satellite towns for Bengaluru under the Smart City scheme, Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, he said cities with more than 50 lakh population were eligible to have satellite towns under the scheme.

Bengaluru’s population being more than 90 lakhs, the State government has proposed three towns for development as satellite towns in order to decongest the City, he said.

Eight other cities in the State with five to 10 lakh population are also eligible to be taken up under another category of the Smart City scheme. Kalaburagi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Belagavi and Davanagere have been proposed. 

Three historic and cultural towns; Vijayapura, Hosapete and Udupi have been proposed to be developed as heritage towns, he said.

The minister said the Union Urban Development Ministry was still in the stage of consultation with the states. With only four months left in the current financial year, it is unlikely that the scheme will take off this year, he said.

Water tariff to go up

Sorake said the government had directed all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), including the city corporations, to take steps to increase the drinking water supply tariff if it had not been done for many years.

The previous BJP government had issued a circular to all the ULBs in this regard, but it was not implemented by all of them, he said.

The ULBs have also been asked to put on a tough act and urge citizens to get their water supply connections regularised within three months. Though the subsequent governments in the State had offered to regularise illegal connections without imposing penalty, the response was poor.

 The ULBs providing water supply service are incurring heavy loss due to this. Those who refuse to regularise within three months will face disconnection, the minister said.


SWM board 

The government has decided to set up a separate board at the State level to plan and coordinate the implementation of Solid Waste Management (SWM) projects in urban areas. The proposed board will be constituted along the lines of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board, he said.

Garbage disposal has become a big problem in almost all the ULBs. There is a need for proper and long-term planning with regard to solid waste management in urban areas. The ULB officials will not do anything if left to themselves. The proposed board will plan and coordinate with all ULBs in this regard, he said.

This apart, the ULBs need professionals and experts to handle specific problems. The government, therefore, is planning to appoint IAS officers, qualified in the field of urban planning and environmental matters, as commissioners of city corporations.

The government is also planning to constitute a commissionerate for 10 cities in the State to ensure coordination, he added.