500-acre township to come up near Tumakuru: B S Suresha

Urban Development Minister B S Suresha (Byrathi) directed officials on Wednesday to start work on establishing a 500-acre integrated township near Vasanthanarasapura Industrial Area in Tumakuru, about 100 km from Bengaluru.

Suresha gave this directive at a review meeting of his department.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in his 2024-25 Budget, had announced integrated townships near the cities of Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, KGF, Vasanthanarasapura (Tumakuru) and Ballari.

With the model code of conduct lifted, Suresha directed officials to start preparing for the township.

The minister also asked officials to explore the possibility of city corporations running their own schools like the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. He sought details on where this can be done and whether it can be brought under the Smart Cities programme. Suresha said development of roads, asphalting new ones and ring roads must come up in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Belagavi and Kolar. He also instructed officials to float short-term re-tender for Mysuru ring road, which he noted had run into some problems.