Unclaimed fund sanctioned for market repair in Bengaluru
5 May, 2013A fierce fire tragedy had taken place in the Russell Market in Bengaluru in February 2012. After the tragedy, the Rajya Sabha member and the former Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna decided to allocate funds from his Member of Parliament’s Local Area Development Fund (MPLAD) for repairing of the market. In this regard, an application was filed with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) under the Right to information (RTI) Act seeking to get the status of the sanctioned fund.
The reply from the BBMP states that though Rs. 1 crore was sanctioned under the MPLAD fund for the rejuvenation of the market, the fund was not claimed by the municipal corporation. Meanwhile, around 2,000 traders in the Russell market pooled in their own money in addition to the funds volunteered by the local MLA and others to raise Rs. 1.75 crores to redevelop the fire-struck market. However, the Russell Market Traders’ Association is looking forward to BBMP to claim the funds to minimize their losses.