The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised to establish a State Capital Region (SCR) for Bengaluru, comprising a comprehensive city development strategy if voted to power in the upcoming Karnataka elections.
BJP's promises
BJP in their poll manifesto released on Monday said that they aim to develop Bengaluru into a global hub of digital innovation through technology-led development program centred around ease of life, cohesive transport network and enabling ecosystems.
How will it help?
The creation of SCR will help th saffron party to realise this dream and not just develop the IT city but the surrounding areas that will fall under the SCR. It will also ease the population pressure that befalls the state capital.
The concept, seemingly, was developed along the lines of National Capital Region and CM Yogi Adityanath's UPSCR project which was executed in September last year.
Difference between Capital Region and Capital
A capital region or district is a cluster of areas including the capital city and surrounding places. It can exist for either national or subnational capitals.
A capital city, on the other hand, is where a region's government is located and where government leaders work. In the case of Karnataka, Bengaluru is the capital city.
Other promises made by BJP
The BJP has made several promises in its vision document for the upcoming Karnataka elections. These include providing three free cooking gas cylinders to all Below Poverty Line (BPL) families annually, launching the ‘Poshana’ (nutrition) scheme, under which every BPL household will be provided with half a litre of Nandini milk every day and 5 kg of Shri Anna-siri dhanya (millets) through monthly ration kits.
The party has also promised to transform Karnataka into a hub of Electric Vehicles (EV) by setting up charging stations, supporting 1,000 startups, converting BMTC buses into fully electric buses, and creating an “EV City” on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Additionally, the BJP has pledged to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Karnataka based on the recommendations of a high-level committee, which is to be constituted for the purpose.
Election dates
The Karnataka Assembly elections are scheduled to be held on May 10, 2023, and the counting of votes will take place on May 13, 2023.
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