While the corporation claims to have sufficient funds in coffer for desilting city's drains, former mayor says the idea is 'a big joke' because the cash-strapped council doesn't have enough moolah to go ahead with the plan

With much to consider with the approaching monsoons almost upon the city, the corporation has decided to go on a desilting drive of the storm water drains, following a protest by opposition members in the council.

Congress Corporator Gunashekar along with opposition leader Uday Shankar voiced the problems faced by areas prone to being inundated, as a result of torrential rain. However, many believe this exercise will be futile and amidst some criticism, some even term it as 'a big joke'.


Down the drain: The entire desilting exercise will cost Rs 42 crore for
primary and secondary storm water drains. Pic/Satish Badiger

Plenty to spare
BBMP Deputy Mayor S Harish said that they have sufficient funds to take up the project. "The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission (JNNURM) fund was not totally used last financial year. We had Rs 980 crore, out of which only Rs 300 crore was used and the balance amount will be utilised in the project once the budget is on," Harish said.

The last desilting exercise covering 54 km was in 2007 and cost Rs 30 crore. All that money had gone down the drain in four years along with the muck, which the BBMP excavates, only to dump it next to pavement close to storm water drains. Now the BBMP is again on the mission of desilting and has set a deadline of two months. The exercise will cost Rs 42 crore for primary and secondary storm water drains.

'A big joke'
However, the idea of desilting the drains has attracted severe criticism. Former Mayor P R Ramesh went as far as to say that the idea is 'a big joke.' "The JNNURM funds can be used only to remodel storm drains and not to remove silt. The promise of budget to allocate Rs 42 crore is all lie. I said in the previous budget itself that the BBMP is cash trapped and I would repeat the same," Ramesh said.

However, according to BBMP Chief Engineer Somshekar nothing was standing it the way. He said, "The electronic tender is on. Rs 42 crore will be allocated in the budget, which is expected to happen in the first week of June and the problem will be tackled shortly."