Only Rs 170 crore are being spent by the GHMC to beautify the city for the forthcoming global biodiversity conference (COP-11) and not Rs 852 crore as proposed originally. Even the Rs 300 crore released by the Centre has come a bit too late. The GHMC is not even sure of completing all the projects estimated at Rs 170 crore before COP-11 which starts on October 1.
GHMC commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu said, “It is difficult to say how many projects will be completed by the month end. Our priority is to repair and re-carpet 55 km of COP-related roads at an estimated cost of Rs 60 crore. This can only be done if the rains permit. We have taken permission to repair roads during the day although traffic is high. We are already behind schedule and are lagging in construction of storm water drains in particular on stretches of roads that are prone to water stagnation,” he said, attributing the delay to non-availability of sand for four to five months, paucity of funds for COP-11 projects and the rains playing havoc.
The GHMC will repair 60-km accumulated length of COP-11 routes at a cost of Rs 60 crore, Rs 30 crore would be spent by roads and buildings department on re-carpeting of its roads running up to 40 km in the city and Rs 12 crore by Natio-nal Highway authorities to repair 18.3 km length of roads. Also, Rs 22 crore have been released to take up temporary repairs of roads elsewhere in city. This means, full-fledged repairs like re-carpeting of roads other than COP-11 routes, will be taken up only after the bio diversity conference.