Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said a task force headed by a minister will be constituted for all the eight zones in the city, to monitor developmental work and to take necessary decisions in their respective jurisdictions in case of emergencies like heavy rains. The Chief Minister, along with MLAs and Ministers from the city and officials on Friday, May 20, visited several rain-affected areas of KR Puram, Ramamurthy Nagar and surrounding areas to assess the situation and gave necessary instructions.
Several areas were flooded and houses were inundated in many parts of the city following the torrential rain that lashed Bengaluru on May 17 night and incessant rains thereafter. "For each zone (under Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) we are forming a task force which will be headed by a Minister, while MLAs, MLCs and MPs will be its members; it will also have engineers and joint commissioners," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters, he said that the task force teams will monitor development works and will have powers to take decisions whenever faced with emergency situations due to heavy rains and floods. "Eight task forces will be constituted for eight zones in the city today itself and under them all the work will be managed. We have taken this important decision," he added.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has directed Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) Commissioner to immediately cancel the notification issued for change of land use from water body to residential purpose, citing cartographic errors in the Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2015. He also directed action on officers responsible for issuing this notification against public interest, following which the BDA Commissioner has issued a cancellation order, and action on erring officers will follow forthwith.
"They (officials) said there was some cartographic error, I did not agree to it. These are all nonsense, so we have cancelled the notification and there is no question of allowing any layouts in the notified lake area," Bommai said commenting on the issue.