Works worth Rs 1,499 crore completed under Smart City Project: UT Khader
Bengaluru, Jan 31: Urban Development Minister UT Khader said that so far, works worth Rs 1,499 crore were completed under the Smart City Project of the Central government and tenders were completed for other works worth Rs 1,407 crore.
Speaking to reporters at his office at Vikasa Soudha here on Thursday, the Minister said that the works worth rs 2,728 crore were in the DPR and all proposed works would start by February end.
Belagavi, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumkur and Davangere cities were selected under the Smart City Project and in five years, Rs 7,000 crore would be spent on various works, of which Rs 3,500 crore would be spent by the state government, he said.
The Smart City Project which has achieved zero per cent growth, has been accelerated and now the state was in the 9th position in the country.
Priority would be given to develop roads, vehicle stands, playgrounds and in each city, separate zones would be selected under the Smart City Project.
For example, in Davangere, puffed rice was famous and efforts were being made to produce them using modern technology. The funds would be utilized to develop slums. In Bengaluru, priority would be given to road developments, fixing LED lights to street lights and market development, he said.
It was not possible to develop the entire city under the Smart City Project. Any one part of the city could be developed as a model one. Works would be taken up only after getting approval from the central government.
In Mangaluru, proposals have been submitted to the centre on setting up of solid waste management, development of hospitals and slaughterhouses.
But so far, the state government has not received any response from the centre. Once again, letter would be written to the centre govt, he said.
On giving licences to construct buildings in local bodies like city corporation and city municipal councils, the Urban Development Department has finalized a by-law and issued an order. But the power to implement that by-law was left to the discretionary power of respective local bodies, he said.
In order to encourage the solar usage, concession was given from FAR norms which was considering the solar panel as the separate floor and measurement, he said.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
