NEWS – Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) presented budget for the city primarily focusing on the ‘Brand Bengaluru’ initiative of the Karnataka government

FINANCES

• Budget Size – Rs 12,369 crore
• Opening balance for 2024-25 – Rs 12,371 crore
• Rs 8,294 crore from own resources
• Rs 4,077.59 crore from central and state government grants
• Surplus budget of Rs 2.17 crore

HIGHLIGHTS

ON BRAND BENGALURU

• BBMP had received about 70,000 suggestions from people belonging to all walks of life
• Upon the recommendations, the Brand Bengaluru concept has been classified into eight categories
• In order to provide funds on time for Brand Bengaluru, tax money collected by the new policies and reforms undertaken in the revenue department will be directly allocated to the Brand Bengaluru projects

SUGAMA SANCHARA (FREE MOVEMENT)

• Focus – Bengaluru City Comprehensive Mobility Plan (BCCMP) + construction of a tunnel road
• Seed money of Rs 200 crore has been earmarked
• Roads under Revised Master Plan 2015 (RMP2015) – Rs 130 crore will be allocated for the development of buffer area on both the sides of the Rajakalauve under Sancharyuktha Roads
• 300 crore to undertake white topping of roads.
• Namma Metro, BBMP and K-RIDE will jointly plan to build ‘Integrated Metro and Road Flyover’ (Double decker road) at an expense of Rs100 crore.
• Parking Policy-2021 has been implemented in the city to prioritize smooth movement of vehicles and parking facilities
• For Programme of Works (POW), Rs 75 lakh will be allocated to each ward
• Grant of Rs 1.25 crore will be given to each ward to undertake developmental works

CLEAN BENGALURU

Land parcels of 50 to 100 acres each will be identified in different directions for treating waste for the next 25 to 30 years(Rs 100 crore )

SHE TOILETS

• Make public infrastructure woman-friendly
• By Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML)
• Sharane Satyakka award with an amount of Rs 50,000 will be paid to eight pourakarmikas (workers who carry out cleaning of public places) in eight zones in recognition of their honest and dedicated work.

HASIRU BENGALURU (GREEN BENGALURU)

• Bengaluru’s first ever Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP Climate Action and Resilience Plan) was launched on 27 November 2023
• Administered by Forest, Environment and Climate Change Management (FECCM) wing, signifying the importance of the subject
• ‘Hasiru Rakshak’, a mobile application has been developed to sensitize school/college students on the importance of plants and trees in the environment and 2 lakhs saplings will be planted in the current year
• Two new high-tech nurseries will be established to meet the growing needs of plants.
• An amount of Rs 35 crore has been allocated each for the development of new parks and lakes
• Open wells and Kalyanies will be rejuvenated to raise the ground water level
• The Rajakaluves shall be developed to make them flood proof with the assistance of World Bank and Central assistance.

HEALTHY BENGALURU

• Rs 200 crore to upgrade the health system in BBMP hospitals
• Certain BBMP hospitals will be handed over to the Bengaluru Health Commissioner for administrative and financial supervision
• BBMP intends to standardize its service delivery parameters for the next 3 years named ‘Samagra Sadruda Arogya’ at an expense of Rs 25 crore
• 50 new ‘Indira Canteens’, including mobile canteens will be set up by BBMP
• A new ‘Indira canteen’ will be set up this year at the Kempegowda International Airport
• Construction of new burial grounds and crematoriums (Rs 5 crore)
• BBMP plans to establish two modern slaughter houses to suit the current hygiene standards and four rendering plants to address the concern of animal waste generated daily
• Twenty-seven e-vehicles (1 per constituency) under ‘Mane Bagilige Chuchhu Maddu’ shall be made functional to improve immunisation and cover last mile coverage

EDUCATION BENGALURU

• To enhance the quality of education, the BBMP will set up a well-equipped computer lab, digital lab, Information technology lab and e-libraries (Rs 10 crore)
• 41 new and renovated school/college buildings (Rs 173 crore)
• Reconstruct it and 67 school and college buildings will be upgraded with state-of-the-art infrastructure (Rs 35 crore)

TECH BENGALURU

• Strengthening IT staff (Rs 50 crore)
• A beneficiary will get the live telecast of status of every service and grievance on the lines of courier or postal services
• Digital sketches and drone images obtained from the revenue department shall be put to use through IT support for survey work

VIBRANT BENGALURU

• A 250-metre high sky-deck is proposed to be built (Rs 350 crore)
• BBMP will provide Rs 50 crore as a mark of gratitude for the activities of the Kempegowda Development Authority at Magadi
• The civic body will provide a grant of Rs100 crore to illuminate with attractive electric lights in flyovers, underbridges, road junctions and parks
• Rs 20 crore to beautify the junctions and public places in the city
• The BBMP will set up ‘Pink Rooms’ that will have sanitary napkins at malls, bus stations and toilets and they would act as rest rooms for women during menstruation
• It will also install a detection mechanism for ambulances at traffic signals to expedite their movements and enable signal-free movement in the time of emergency

WELFARE PROGRAMMES

• E-Sarathy scheme for the welfare of women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, backward minorities, and the transgender community by providing financial assistance for the purchase of approximately 250 electric autos or goods e-autos (Rs 5 crore)
• Rs 12 crore for the free distribution of electric two-wheelers to working women and pourakarmikas
• Rs 10 crore for the economic development of the transgender community and other economically backward classes
• The BBMP will provide 50% of the project cost or a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh as a helping hand to establish small enterprises
• Rs 5 lakh subsidy under the Individual Housing Scheme for the construction of houses for homeless poor people belonging to SC/ST, OBC, specially-abled, and EWS categories in the city
• Rs 4 crore to establish 8 old-age homes

Rs 4 crore to establish 8 ‘Savitri Vasathi’ hostels for working women