Bengaluru-centric manifesto: JD(S) promises to fix school fee, regularise B-khata properties

BENGALURU: JD(S) on Saturday released a separate manifesto for Bengaluru city with 16 promises, including setting up a committee headed by a retired high court judge to fix school fees and regularising B-khata properties.
It also promised to set up a 30-bed hospital in every ward of the city, provide 10kg of rice per person in a BPL family, and launch an animal birth control scheme to contain the stray dog menace.
JD(S) supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda released the Bengaluru-centric manifesto, the first by his party. “We are committed to implementing these promises along with our Pancha Ratna programmes if people give the party a mandate,” Gowda said, calling upon people to vote for JD(S).
The party has promised to build affordable houses for the poor and the labour class under the Aasare scheme, besides announcing Rs 2,000 cash assistance (monthly) to auto drivers and security guards. Teaching staff in private schools who draw less than Rs 10,000 have been assured of cash assistance. The party promised to build 1,100 toilets in busy and commercial areas of the city.
JD(S) assured a Rs 2,000 concession on property tax for every tree residents grow on the premises of their houses.
Other promises the manifesto lists are reintroduction of the Old Pension Scheme, extension of Namma Metro to all parts of the city, addressing confusion surrounding BBMP ward reservation, holding elections to the civic body on priority, merging various housing schemes and allotting houses to the poor, Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act to improve administration in BBMP, drafting a Revised Master Plan 2041 for the city, and extending Cauvery water supply to the 110 villages recently included in Bengaluru. tnn