‘Sid­dar­amaiah can’t let state capital rot’

Bangalore: Chief Minister Sid­dar­amaiah directing the BBMP to raise revenue it­self, instead of looking for fi­nancial assistance from the government, has irked for­mer BJP mayors.

The former mayors feel that the capital of the st­ate cannot be “or­phaned” and “ig­­nored” financially by the state government as 70 per cent of the state’s rev­en­­ue comes from Bangalore.
It is the duty of the st­ate government to de­volve funds to Urban Lo­cal Bodies, they say.

Former mayor S. K. Na­taraj said that the BBMP is deprived of its most de­serving taxes such as oc­troi (tax levied on interstate lorries entering the city), two per cent stamp duty on properties regist­ered in the city, and sales, commercial and entertainment taxes.

Although the state government had promised to compensate the BBMP for the octroi and stamp du­ty revenue, this has not happened. Bangalore has the po­ten­tial to earn at least Rs 50,000 crore but everyth­ing goes to the state go­ve­r­nment.

Property tax is the only revenue sp­inner for the BBMP. Yet, Bangalore is re­qu­ired to pu­mp in huge revenue for the development of the state. This is forcing the ci­vic body to either pledge its properties or ra­ise loans, said Nataraj.

Another former mayor, D. Venkatesh Murthy, sa­id that Bangalore plays ho­st to the Chief Mi­ni­ster, cabinet ministers and a host of visiting digni­taries. It is also an IT-BT hub and the headquarters of public sector companies. Bangalore’s infrastructure like roads and drains is extensively used by all these entities and it is imperative that the infrastructure is constantly upgraded.

“Seventy per cent of the state’s revenue is earned fr­om Bangalore. If not all, at least a substantial ch­­unk of the revenue must be pumped back into the city to boost its in­­­frastructure. There sh­ould be no dent in the re­pu­tation on Bangalore city. The CM must shed his ego and grant funds for the development of th­e city,” said Murthy.

The incumbent mayor, Ka­tte Satyanarayan, said that the city needs financial assistance from the state government. A delegation of corporators fro­m all parties met the CM se­eking a grant of Rs 1,000 crore and increased al­l­ocation to Bangalore in the coming fiscal.