World-class roads in Bangalore? Ha! Ha!

Smitha Rao / TNN / Jul 27, 2006, 23:31 IST

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World-class roads. That's what was advertised and citizens were made to believe that under the KMRP Bangalore.

BANGALORE: World-class roads. That's what was advertised and citizens were made to believe that under the Karnataka Municipal Reforms Project (KMRP) Bangalore.
The High Court-appointed panel on roads headed by Capt Raja Rao has quite a different story to narrate.
"Results indicate that there is total failure of discharge of duties by the consultant, contractor and ward engineers and the accounts staff.All this has resulted in poor quality of road works. The High Court may consider and issue directions to the BMP."
And that is what the panel has to say on the so-named World Bank-funded roads.

In its last report to the High Court submitted on Thursday, the three-member panel has made a slew of observations and recommendations on what ails roads, the condition of drains, the functioning and lack of co-ordination at the BMP, as also financial mismanagement.
The panel has independently conducted a series of tests using samples from the KMRP roads and has found that the number of tests that need to be done to meet the Indian Road Congress (IRC) norms are dismal and inadequate. Explains Capt Raja Rao who's heading the panel: "We have repeatedly brought this to the attention of the BMP, to no avail.

People will continue calling them 'world-class' roads because nobody really knows what a world-class road is. There is no bench-mark to refer to."
Financial mismanagement: The panel has also noted what they term, mismanagement of funds and administrative irregularities.
"The annual budget of BMP is around Rs 2,000 crore and majority of this fund is spent on works. The accounts department of BMP and state accounts department have not noticed these lapses." To ease the burden, the panel has also come up with a suggestion -- "It is recommended that the BMP through state government prevail upon the Accountant General to take up the auditing work of the BMP and replace the 'audit work of the BMP."
Do you think Bangalore's CM has lived to his promises?

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