Madivala lake to developed into biodiversity park: Madiwala lake in BTM layout is going to be transformed into a biodiversity park with ground water retention, an open butterfly park, and an ecosystem with equal importance given to both flaura and fauna. The renovation of the 272-acre lake into biodiversity park was largely due to the proposal by Karnataka Knowledge Commission. Professor CR Babu, Centre for Environment Management of Degraded Ecosystems, DU, is heading the project, which also includes a conservatory and a herbal garden.

Source: The Hindu

3500 garbage transport auto-rickshaws untraceable – a Rs 252 crore scam? : It has happened in the past and is happening again. Autos used for garbage-disposal are untraceable. It came to light when the Solid Waste Management department was trying to install GPS devices on trucks and autos used for transporting garbage. As per the Palike’s records, 5000 such autos have been paid Rs 30,000 every month for the past two years. Only 1500 autos showed up for installing GPS, and the rest are untraceable though they continue to receive payment.

Senior officials suspect ward-level assistant engineers to be involved in the Rs 252 crore scam. Sarfaraz Khan, BBMP Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, said that he has given the missing vehicles 15 more days to come forward and get GPS installed. If this fails, the last resort will be a high level inquiry, he said.

Source: Bangalore Mirror

BBMP bye-law on dog adoption to be re-examined: Owing to vocal protests by deeply upset dog owners, the BBMP’s bye-law allowing apartment dwellers to shelter only one dog was withdrawn with immediate effect on June 21. Karnataka Urban Development Department communicating the withdrawal to the Karnataka High Court, which said the law would be redrafted after sifting through citizens’ recommendations. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Krishna Dixit received the notification.

Source: Firstpost

BBMP Restructuring Committee publishes the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill: The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill proposes three levels of governance to improve the city’s administrative structure — multiple municipal corporations, ward level committees, and finally, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) for the entire city. The draft points out that since BDA, BMTC, BMRCL, BWSSB and BESCOM are not answerable to the civic body; it is very often difficult to hold them accountable. Complete administrative control can thus be achieved under GBA headed by the Chief Minister for the next five years, before handing it over to the Mayor next term.

Source: The Hindu

White-topping project put on hold due to rains: The ambitious white-topping project to concretise city roads has hit a major roadblock – the unpredictable monsoons. BBMP’s plan to cement 94 km of roads was supposed to be closed late in September. Entire monsoon season will not provide favorable weather conditions to continue the concretisation process, of which only 20 km has been finished so far. Since torrential downpours could disturb the required water-cement ratio, the project is going to be kick-started next year when a minimum of eight days of continuous sunlight can be predicted by the weather department.

Source: The Times of India

Activists demand recharge wells for efficient rain-water utilisation: Activists from Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) are going to launch a campaign soon demanding the government to recharge 10,000 wells in Bengaluru through water collected during the monsoon season. They believe that rain-water is going to waste and should be judiciously used by digging more wells in the city. This was one of the group’s main demands in their manifesto before the assembly elections, to reduce pressure and demand on the Cauvery River, and to prevent inundation of potholes in the rainy-season.

Source: The Hindu

BBMP decides to find alternative to contractors for garbage transport: BBMP is in debt and has realised the futility of spending Rs 800 crore on hiring contractors for transporting waste to landfills. A more economical solution has been sought by the BBMP to purchase 500 auto tippers, and set up its own 50 garbage transfer stations at a cost of Rs 60 crore, for which locations have already been identified.

Source: The Hindu

Namma Metro launches six-car coach: On June 17, Namma Metro celebrated one year of phase -1, with 12.2 crore journeys recorded during the last year. President Pranab Mukerjee had inaugurated the Kempe Gowda Metro station a year back, which doubled the footfall to 3.36 lakhs on week days on the 26 trains running on the Byappanahalli – Mysore road route. The first six-car coach was launched on Friday evening with a reserved coach for women. Constructed by Bharath Earth Movers Limited (BEML), the three extra coaches will meet the demands of the population, and have the capacity to accommodate 2068 passengers totally.

Source: The New Indian Express

‘Bellandur lake is the biggest septic tank’: A committee set up by National Green Tribunal to check the condition of various lakes in Bengaluru called Bellandur lake the largest septic tank in Bengaluru. The panel after inspection submitted a 329 page report to the NGT on May 31 that was made public on June 12. It had observations on Varthur and Agara lakes as well. The report said that the Bellandur lake’s storage capacity had significantly diminished due to garbage and construction waste being dumped into the water-body. It points out to the negligence of local authorities in maintaining the lake.

The report also said that Varthur lake was in some aspects worse than Bellandur lake, especially when it comes to the volume of garbage dumped and the pollution generated.

Source: The New Indian Express

Mahadevapura demands a dedicated BBMP chief engineer: In a meeting held with Mayor Sampath Raj, citizens argued saying the area in Mahadevapura was equal to 40 wards in the city, and the residents collectively pay Rs 540 crore in property tax. They said a chief engineer was required, to take care of the needs of the zone exclusively. Anjali Saini, representing Whitefield Rising, said one chief engineer shared between two zones cannot balance the duties equally. Empowering ward committees could be the way forward for more focused and timely governance, she said.

Source: The New Indian Express