Plastic ban soon: Opposition MLAs take on George over potholes, waste

Bengaluru: Bengaluru development minister K J George came under fire on Thursday from city legislators for the delay and mishandling of solid waste management (SWM). At the meeting called specifically to discuss issues related to SWM and potholes in the city, George was put on the mat for his "overconfidence" at having contractors take upon the onus to repair the damaged roads. While the minister said the contractors, who have a liability clause in their contract, will be asked to repair the bad roads, MLAs dismissed it suggesting that BBMP engineers were at the mercy of the contractors. The MLAs attacked the BBMP officials and minister for nurturing false hopes about contractors rather than work towards repairing the roads. It is said officials gave figures of having spent only Rs 15 crore to Rs 16 crore in the last few weeks over pothole-filling in the city. The BJP MLAs, who attended the meeting, said the minister could not give satisfactory replies. Legislators Ravi Subramanya and Ashwathna rayan said the minister por trayed a "helpless" picture in front of them, seeking advice rather than providing any concrete solutions. "We voiced our opposition over false hopes being given by the Palike officials and the minister. Neither the BBMP nor the minister had any response when I told him that the newly tarred roads were falling apart in my constituency ," said Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya. On the SWM issue, MLAs cutting across party lines said there needs to be a systematic approach towards clearing the waste. When reminded that the plastic ban remains only on paper, the minister said it will be initiated with immediate effect from Friday . 'Clear mess or return tax' MLA Ashwathnarayan went a step ahead and asked George to return the tax collected from people as the BBMP and the government were unable to clear the garbage around their vicinities. MLAs of outlying constituencies attacked the BBMP and the minister for allowing indiscriminate dumping of garbage in their areas after they were lifted from the core city .George instructed Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem to keep a check on such acts and book cases. -arabnews