Karnataka CM puts Bengaluru roads, traffic, flood control, civic services in focus

BENGALURU: A major push for Bengaluru’s infrastructure and civic services was on the agenda of the second meeting of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Thursday, with road development, traffic management, flood control, public transport, waste management, lake conservation, welfare schemes and urban planning emerging as key areas of focus.Chairing the meeting, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the creation of the GBA had helped reduce the administrative pressure on the chief commissioner by distributing responsibilities across the five commissioners. He also said as per the Supreme Court’s order, local body elections would be held, adding that the electoral process would have been completed but for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.The agenda for the meeting was focused on all-round development of Bengaluru with priority on road infrastructure. White-topping and road development works covering 120.69 km are being taken up at an estimated Rs 1,700 crore, with 64.09 km already completed. Another 378.95 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads are being upgraded at Rs 694 crore, of which 306.19 km has been completed. Under the CSSIP scheme, road works covering 788.28 km are being implemented at Rs 1,241.57 crore.An additional Rs 2,000 crore has been provided for 2026-27 for development of roads, parks, playgrounds, buildings and cemeteries, covering nearly 1,041 km of ward roads.Traffic decongestion is another priority. A 4.72-km Rotary Flyover at Byappanahalli, estimated to cost Rs 380 crore, is under construction. Tenders are also progressing for 11 elevated corridors covering 75.60 km at Rs 13,262.70 crore.Flood management and lake restoration also received attention. With World Bank assistance, 173 storm-water drains and 80 drain-upgradation works are being taken up at Rs 2,000 crore. Improvement works are under way in 24 lakes, while around 300 acres of aquatic weeds have been removed.