Must PM & Prez visit Bengaluru for civic agencies to do their job, asks HC

The Karnataka High Court has wondered whether the President and Prime Minister should often visit the city and travel on different roads for civic agencies to do their job.

The HC said this in reference to reports that the city civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), spent Rs 23 crore to repair roads in the city for the Prime Minister's recent visit.

The chiding came during the hearing of a contempt petition against Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) officers.

Manjula P and Sharadamma P had approached the HC seeking restoration of water and sewerage line connection to two of their housing sites in Visvesvaraya Layout. The connections were sanctioned but not laid.

On October 21, 2020, a single-judge bench of the HC ordered the civic agencies to restore the connection to the two sites within two months and disposed of the case.

The two women approached the HC a year later with a contempt petition against the commissioners and concerned engineers of BDA and BWSSB as the earlier HC order was not followed by them.

The officers had sought time before the division bench of Justice B Veerappa and Justice K S Hemalekha who were hearing the contempt plea. Even the contempt plea is pending since May 2021 but the BDA and BWSSB failed to follow the court order repeatedly.

On Thursday, the HC said: "Maybe the condition of roads will improve if the PM and President visit Bengaluru often. Last week you spent Rs 23 crore to fill potholes.