Bengaluru: As the monsoon season approaches, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is preparing to repair the city’s roads. After two years, the BBMP has taken up a big project to asphalt roads across the city. However, this work has now come under fire.

A total of 218 roads in the city are being newly asphalted, and some citizens have expressed their opinion that “There is a possibility that the newly asphalted roads will be damaged during the rainy season. The BBMP usually allocates more money for road works in the main areas of the city. But this time, it has attracted attention that more money has been allocated for the repair of roads on the outskirts of Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli. The current work plan includes 389 km of roads. BBMP sources have confirmed that Rs 694 crore has been allocated for this.

“The aim is to develop the city’s roads in a smart city model and the help of WRI (World Resources Institute) India has been sought to ensure quality..” BBMP Chief Engineer BS Prahlad informed. “There will be no inauguration ceremonies after the completion of this road work. Steps will be taken to open it for public use immediately,” Prahlad said.

In September last year, pictures of huge potholes on the roads went viral on social media. This also raised questions about the BBMP’s performance. Now, the plan to asphalt 389 km of roads has been implemented.

Due to lack of funds, the BBMP had deducted Rs 300 crore from the 2024-25 budget. The remaining Rs 394 crore was planned to be allocated for the financial year 2025-26. However, there was a delay in getting approval from the government and the BBMP property tax portal was also suspended. Now, these hurdles have been overcome and the road asphalting work has been started.

After many discussions between the BBMP and the Urban Development Department (UDD), the government finally approved the road work project in November 2024.

Under this project, Suranjandas Road, Balagere Main Road, Dinnur Main Road, Bellandur Road, Kadugodi Main Road, TC Palya Main Road, Ramamurthy Nagar Main Road, Ittamadu Main Road, Hosa Road, Hulimavu-Begur Road, Ullal Suburban Main Road, Kerekodi Main Road, Uttarahalli Main Road and other roads will be asphalted.

This is the second major road project undertaken by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar after he became the Bengaluru Development Minister. Last year, the BBMP had launched a project to white-top 138 km of roads at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore. The work is still in progress.

The project is part of the BBMP’s ongoing efforts to fix Bengaluru’s roads. However, some citizens of the city have expressed concerns about the timing of the project and the lack of information.