In a pioneering move, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is venturing into the realm of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the maintenance of 12 ‘world-class’ roads, spanning 13.41 km in Bengaluru’s city center.
While BBMP commits to asphalt these roads whenever necessary, it is seeking collaboration with private companies to ensure their ongoing cleanliness and upkeep. In exchange, participating companies will be granted dedicated space along the roads for branding opportunities.
Bengaluru’s civic body is contemplating the utilization of CSR funds for the first time to preserve the aesthetic and functional quality of 12 TenderSURE roads. The BBMP estimates an annual maintenance cost of Rs 50 lakh per kilometer for these roads. The identified roads for maintenance under this unique public-private partnership (PPP) include prominent locations such as Church Street, Cunningham Road, Residency Road, Richmond Road, and St Mark’s Road.
Under this collaborative arrangement, the participating firms will be responsible for various aspects of maintenance, including fixing footpath interlocks, painting cycle lanes, tending to ornamental plants, repairing broken drain slabs, replacing defunct street lights, and beautifying the roads. The BBMP will retain responsibility for asphalting the roads and painting the main carriageway.
To incentivize private participation, the BBMP will allocate a 3 feet x 2 feet space at four locations along a one-kilometer stretch for branding purposes. However, the civic body emphasizes that no commercial advertisements will be permitted in these spaces.
While this approach of engaging private firms for the annual upkeep of roads is novel in Bengaluru, both the BBMP and Namma Metro have previously sought assistance from corporate entities, including builders, to maintain road medians in various parts of the city.
BBMP’s Engineering-in-Chief, BS Prahlad, expresses optimism about the response from private firms. Prahlad describes the 12 TenderSURE roads as “world-class” but acknowledges the challenges in their maintenance, including delayed payments to contractors. He sees the use of CSR funds as an opportunity for private companies to contribute meaningfully to the city.
The identified roads for this collaborative maintenance model are Residency Road, Richmond Road, Museum Road, Vittal Mallya Road, St Mark’s Road, Commissariat Road, Cunningham Road, KG Road, Nrupathunga Road, Modi Hospital Road, Church Street, Museum, and Cross Road.
