Separate policy to protect, generate revenue out of BBMP assets, says Shivakumar

A new policy on protecting assets in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits and to also generate revenue from them will soon be framed by the Karnataka government, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced on Thursday.

A new policy on protecting assets in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits and to also generate revenue from them will soon be framed by the Karnataka government, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced on Thursday.

He was replying to a starred question by Govindaraju on what steps have been taken to utilise the corporation’s assets in Bengaluru in the Legislative Council.

Mr. Shivakumar said that this was pending because of various technical issues. Marriage halls, educational institutions, and temples had been built on land belonging to the corporation, he said.

“Considering the complexity of the issue, we are contemplating a separate set of rules through a new policy to address the issue. There are cases wherein very low rent is being paid and it involves arriving at a one-time settlement (OTS) to ensure revenue generation for the BBMP. We cannot take back the land where temples have been built and we are contemplating giving it to them taking into account the guidance value,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the policy was in its final stages and very soon it would be announced after due consultation with experts to resolve any technical issues.

Mr. Govindaraju had sought to know why the BBMP was paying rent for its offices despite having its own assets that could generate roughly around ₹600 crore annually. He also sought to know what action had been taken to clear encroachments from the BBMP assets.

To another question, Mr. Shivakumar said efforts were on to find a permanent solution to the issue of solid waste management in the BBMP limits and there were plans to come up with four big waste-to-energy projects in the BBMP jurisdiction.