murali772's blog

Pay-and-park put on hold

23 December 2009 - 10:37am — murali772

Contradictory views and ambiguity shroud many developmental projects. While the agencies and stakeholders continue to dream big, at the end of the day, the projects seem to be just a pipedream. Plans have been made for many multi-storeyed parking plazas and at least 100 on-street parking lots, but the parking policy for the city is itself not clear.

DAKSH report on democracy and governance in Karnataka

21 December 2009 - 12:09pm — murali772

DAKSH (a registered civil society organization committed to enhancing citizens’ engagement with issues of democracy, governance, and equity) undertook a review of democracy and governance in Karnataka, as a way for a citizen’s group to engage with the democratic structures and processes at a state level.

Urban Development Policy of GoK

11 December 2009 - 6:29pm — murali772

The GoK has released a draft Urban Development policy for Karnataka on 14.11.2009 for public comments and inputs. The same may be accessed here. The period for inputs ends on 15.12.09. Surprisingly, it has come the attention of the civil society only now.

Way out of the mining imbroglio

1 December 2009 - 4:03pm — murali772

Mining, like defence contracts, is prone to corruption. Extracting resources from the ground does not lend itself to the usual rules of competition. A mine is a natural monopoly and the state, which gives the right to mining, is also a monopoly. The two come together in the backroom and you get crony capitalism. What is the answer?

Govt firm on privatising Escoms

19 November 2009 - 7:23pm — murali772

The Government is firm on privatising the Electricity Supply Companies (Escoms) as per their policy. Both Central, State govts regard the move as key step in power reforms, and also for ensuring financial stability, Energy Minister K S Eshwarappa said here on Wednesday.

The immense cost of Socialism

15 November 2009 - 10:10am — murali772

Growth accelerated with tentative reforms in 1980, and shot up to 9% after reforms deepened in the current decade. How much lower would infant mortality, illiteracy and poverty have been had India commenced reform a decade earlier, and enjoyed correspondingly faster growth and human development?

Industry of 'poverty-wallahs' exposed

15 November 2009 - 9:56am — murali772

More people on the earth have risen out of poverty in the past 25 years than at any other time in human history, and this has happened primarily because of sustained high economic growth in India and China.

Recycling of old stories - BMTC's way of remaining in the news

13 November 2009 - 6:06pm — murali772

Here's a peace of information for commuters who are used to that `blind wait' - without a clue on the arrival or departure schedule - for BMTC buses. Keonics in association with Siemens Information Systems is running a pilot project for BMTC to introduce global positioning system (GPS) devices on its fleet.

Transport Dept making some right noises, finally

13 November 2009 - 5:29pm — murali772

Skip the queues and the touts. Just pay Rs 25 and put your feet up -- the dakiya will home-deliver your driving license and even registration certificate (RC) of your vehicle. And India Post has promised to deliver them in just two days after they are processed.

Mysore in the news - for right reasons!

10 November 2009 - 10:50am — murali772

The Mysore City Corporation (MCC), which has privatised solid waste management in 48 wards of the 65 wards in the city, has bagged the Icon City award for best solid waste management. The award has been instituted by the Centre for Quality Management System, Jadhavpur University, Kolkata.

The Koramangala 'lake' saga

5 November 2009 - 11:38am — murali772

There is the huge tract of land of 37 acres on the left when you come down BDA complex in Koramangala, while heading towards Wipro park. Just last week the Chief Minister has denotified the entire land in favour of the erstwhile land lord, inspite of orders at the Supreme Court level against any such act.

Netas snub board, meddle in police transfers

24 September 2009 - 5:05pm — murali772

Even after Home Minister V S Acharya had recently explained the formation of the Police Establishment Board (PEB) to ensure that transfers are done without “external’’ pressure’’, there seems to be no end to political interference.

State’s reluctance to try Traffic Restraint Scheme irks HC

23 September 2009 - 1:06pm — murali772

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday observed that the state government is not ready to experiment with the Traffic Restraint Scheme (TRS) and was instead depending on infrastructure projects and enhancement of public transport system.

The "Native" Kolkata Metro

21 September 2009 - 11:14am — murali772

The 20km long Calcutta Metro Railway completes its 25 years next month, unwept, unhonoured and unsung. It has never had a derailment, no fatality or no structural collapses. It carries 4.2 lakh passengers a day that is three times of the Delhi Metro which is more than thrice as long. It is faster too.

‘Citizens for City’ contest

17 September 2009 - 1:18pm — murali772

To enable citizens to participate and come up with innovative strategies for developing the city and improve the quality of life, FFC (Foundation for Futuristic Cities) has announced ‘Citizens for City’ contest. Anyone can draft a well-researched strategy from a list of 30 topics given on the foundation’s website, www.citizensforcity.org.

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