Bengaluru : Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development Department (UDD) B.H. Anil Kumar assumed charge as the Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) here on Wednesday.
After receiving the silver baton from outgoing Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad, he said he would work towards providing a “clean, transparent and responsive administration”.
Stressing on the need to maintain Bengaluru’s image as an international city, he said the city needed a “vision document” for planned growth. “There are many experts on solid waste management, water, environment, apart from institutions of international repute. We will bring them on board to create a Vision 2050 document, draw up action plans and form task forces for achieving the targets,” he said and added that citizens’ participation was crucial for the same.
Asked what his focus areas would be, Mr. Kumar said solid waste management, rejuvenation of lakes and drinking water supply, grievance redressal and making administration citizen friendly, improving the existing road infrastructure and solving traffic congestion. “These require coordination with other service providers. We already have a coordination committee, chaired by Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar. We will work towards improving coordination between all stakeholders and service providers,” he said.
He also hinted at advertisement hoardings making a comeback in the city. There is currently a one-year ban on all forms of advertisement. “The Urban Development Department has already notified the BBMP Advertisement Rules and invited objections. This is different from the BBMP’s Outdoor Signages and public Messaging Bye-laws. Though the bye-laws have been deemed approved, it is different from rules which are more comprehensive. We will take into account the objections received, the orders of the Karnataka High Court and the 2006 Advertisement Policy before finalising the rules,” he stated.
About funding for Indira Canteens, he said the UDD had already urged the Finance Department to release at least 50% of funds required to run them. He also said a committee had been constituted to look into the alleged irregularities in the Indira Canteens, white-topping and TenderSURE projects.
Meanwhile, Mr. Prasad expressed the satisfaction of working towards solving the city’s problems as Commissioner for three years and four months. Asked what his achievements were, he said conducting two elections, improving the civic body’s finances, reducing the loans, setting up the Indira Canteens in a short period, and improving civic infrastructure. He, however, said he was disappointed that 100% segregation of waste could not be achieved and the garbage problem still remained.