Bengaluru Citizens Say Won't Pay Tax Over "Poor Infra", DK Shivakumar Responds

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said the work of filling potholes in Bengaluru is "progressing swiftly", even as a group of citizens threatened to stop paying property tax amid a raging debate over the city's crumbling infrastructure.

In a post on X, Shivakumar wrote in Kannada: "Giving priority to smooth traffic in Bengaluru city, the work of asphalting roads at various places in the city and filling potholes is progressing swiftly." 

The development came days after Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw reignited the debate over Bengaluru's infrastructure by sharing a visiting overseas executive's critical comments on the city's roads and garbage. Her remarks prompted Shivakumar, who is also the minister in charge of Bengaluru development, to say the city deserves collective effort, not constant criticism.

In a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday, the Individual Tax Payers Forum - comprising Income Tax payers - urged the government to refrain the Greater Bengaluru Authority from collecting property tax if they were not provided with "good public infrastructure". 

"The citizens and Taxpayers, are suffering immensely along with our families and children because of Bad Civic Infrastructure planning by Municipal Authorities (BBMP), GBA) and wish to draw your kind attention to the ongoing, Half Measured, Unscientific, and poorly Co-ordinated Road White-Topping, and Stormwater drainage works in the Varthur-Balgere Panathur area," the letter, accessed by NDTV, said.

The forum referred to "one of the worst" flooding in the city recently and said that "instead of first completing the drainage network, which is the foundation for road stability, authorities have hastily started filing potholes, white-topping works in Varthur-Balagere-Panathur". "Such half-measures will only lead to rapid deterioration of the new roads, wasting public funds and taxpayer contributions," it said.

Bengaluru is globally recognised as India's IT hub, it said, adding that such a casual approach and civic negligence only "erodes the pride and credibility of 'Brand Bengaluru' and should be unacceptable". 

"In last few decades, the recognition is getting changed and we being the citizens and residents of Bengaluru, don't want to hear our City as Garbage City, Pothole City, Traffic Jam City, No Footpath city, Poor Public Infrastructure, etc," it said. 

On Wednesday too, Shaw flagged the "dire situation" which she alleged was caused by the failure of the previous state governments to act on time. "This Government has the opportunity to change this and act fast to fix these decades of deteriorating infrastructure and garbage management," she said on X.

The state government has come under criticism over the poor state of roads and traffic issues in the city. 

Earlier, state ministers Priyank Kharge and M B Patil also acknowledged the problems and said fixing them would require time. They called for "collective effort" to improve the city.

On Tuesday, Shivakumar said 13,000 potholes in the city have been filled so far, and said his plan was to find a "permanent solution" to Bengaluru's road issues. He said he has instructed officials to chalk out a Rs 1,100 crore action plan to develop 550 km arterial roads in the city.