BBMP and advisers - Sankey Tank Road Widening

<This is a post from an anonymous user who has chosen not to reveal his/her identity>

Dear Praja friends, as you already know, these are the days of advisory councils and committees. Their grip is complete, top to down, one advisory council is sitting at national level (NAC), and we also see and hear of a few at the lowest (our city government) level.

I am here to write about BBMP's technical advisory committee, mention of which I saw in today's DNA Bangalore newspaper. A column was authored by Dr Ashwin Mahesh, who has been listed as a member of "BBMP's technical advisory committee".

In the column, Dr Mahesh is critical of BBMP's Sankey Road widening project. Everyone is advised to read the column I am mentioning to confirm what I am saying here is right - Dr Mahesh, a member of BBMP's Technical Advisory Committee is strongly opposing Sankey Tank Road widening project, and also BBMP's approach to similar projects.

Now, my questions to you all, BBMP, and Dr Mahesh

Questions specific to the committee (to BBMP, and Praja friends)

1. What is the role and purpose of BBMP's Technical Advisory Committee
2. How many members does it have
3. How many of BBMP's projects have these "members" advised on
4. How much remuneration and what perks are paid to the advisers?
5. Who pays this? If BBMP, then what budget does the money come from
6. What are the responsibilities of the advisers on this "committee"
7. Who bears accountability on quality and bias aspects of advice that the committee offers? Advisers? Or BBMP? If some advice offered is accepted and later found to be disastrous, will BBMP keep the blame, or passed to the advisers?
8. If the committee members are being openly critical of some high visibility projects like Sankey Tank Road widening, why do you still have them on it?

Corresponding questions for Dr Mahesh

1. Are you "inside" BBMP or "outside" BBMP?
2. Is it true that most of your advice is turned down by the BBMP? That is the feeling one gets after reading your articles in newspapers etc related to local projects?
3. If above is not true then are there examples of advices that you offered and BBMP did not turn down? Would you be open to sharing the "hit rate"?
4. In case the hit rate is low or very low, if BBMP anyway doesn't follow your advice on contest-ably futile projects like Sankey Tank Road Widening, why are you still on this "committee"?
5. What responsibilities do you carry as member of the committee? Advise on a specific number and type of projects? Attend a specified number of meetings?

My dear friends, learned sirs and madams, judging by blogs and comments here, many of you know Dr Ashwin Mahesh. Would you be able to get some answers to above. Just like you all, I also want to understand account-abilities in functioning of BBMP.

My questions are simple and genuine. I share them here anonymously so that these are not seen to be personal.

love bangalore,
RFOB (a Real Friend of Bangalore)

Malleshwaram road widening Protest (5 Jun - 8am - 9:30 am)

There will be a protest in Malleshwaram on 5th June (Sunday).  It is happening due to the following reasons:

1. Widening of Sampige Road without any public consultation
   1. Short-sighted planning of the widened road as the road already leads to a bottle-neck of railway bridge
   2. Slums in a colony around the railway bridge who could lose their homes with no prior information, request for consent, etc.
2. Widening of Sankey Road in a stealthy manner
   1. The proposed plan is to demolish part of a school, encroach into Sankey Tank (one of the few remaining lakes in Bangalore)
   2. Lots of huge heritage trees could be sacrificed, using the wrong justification of wider roads = no traffic congestion (which is far from the truth)

Protest will start in front of Mantri Mall at 8 AM and we will walk to Bhashyam Circle (Sadashivnagar) to raise awareness among the people.

Kindly circulate this (sorry for the short notice), so that we can have enough strength in numbers to force BBMP to realise their folly.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/166049/development-eat-up-sankey-road.html
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2011/06/01&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00204&ViewMode=HTML
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2011/06/04&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00200&ViewMode=HTML
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2011/06/04&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00201&ViewMode=HTML

p.s.: I am not joining because I am out of town, trying to help as best as I can :(

Sankey Road Trees Chopped-off overnight after a secret auction

Sadly and expectedly BBMP has gone ahead and done what its best at. It has in a unilateral, self-serving, authoritarian manner chopped off 17 of the 19 beautiful trees on Sankey Road starting as early as 1:30 am on Friday morning before a stay could be obtained on the remaining 2 trees by 6pm.

The reasoning of the BBMP, Local Councillors and Police would probably have been that the green activists and Members of Malleswaram Swabhimaana Sangha would cry hoarse for a few days at best, but immediate money could be made in collusion with the Timber mafia and ofcourse the panacea of all traffic problems in Bangalore - "Road Widening", could be realised on Sankey Road.

Full article here http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article2151390.ece

In a rare gesture and in the interest of time, high court judges visited the spot in a personal vehicle and ascertained the location and the geography before passing the order but it was too late by the time a stay could be obtained.

It just might be too late before our councillors and corporators realise what they are doing/have done to Bangalore. Sigh!

p.s. The learned "authorities" at BBMP might even start using the latest Digital Media act to prevent protests in the online medium, just like they arrested 12 protesters at the site on friday. Praja admins, watchout and welcome to the newest Banana republic fellow PrajegaLu!

Sankey Road to lose trees

The Arterial Sankey Road, from Cauvery Theatre Junction to Yeshwantpur Circle Junction is going to be widened and going to lose all the green cover it has. It is going to become a major disaster given that Sankey Tank and surrounding regions cannot withstand such a large amount of vehicular pollution.

All those trees on Chowdiah Road which is close to Indian Institute of Science are going to go the way of Seshadri Road.

This is just a disaster waiting to happen to Malleswaram, Sadashivanagar and IISc. One of the oldest areas in the city is being murdered in broad daylight. Instead of concentrating on proper signals and road dividers on Sankey Road and Sir C V Raman road, it is going to be destroyed like Race Course Road was.

"On condition of anonymity, a BBMP Executive Engineer of the Road Widening Committee, said, “The entire stretch of road from the Cauvery Theatre Junction till the Yeswanthpur will be widened as part of 91 arterial roads expansion project. The Road Widening Committee has already placed the plan, as this road is the crucial connecting road to NH 4 (National Highway). Based on the priority, the road will be demarcated and widened as scheduled”.

http://www.deccanherald.c...

Say no to widening of trees-lined Sankey Road Petition

The proposed six-lane corridor is expected to result in chopping of about 150 well-grown trees. The widening entails felling of about 150 trees on both sides of the stretch, besides occupying a good portion of the historic tank. It'll/It'd destroy the beauty of one of the posh localities of the City.

There's a concern over the threat faced by pedestrians, especially students of four major schools located in the vicinity or close to the proposed corridor - Stella Maris, Poorna Prajna Education Centre, Kendriya Vidyalaya and the Government Boys' School. The safety of schoolchildren on the six-lane high speed corridor would be a major challenge.

The widening will cause damage to the existing green cover on the Sankey Road. The long-term benefits of this corridor are questionable especially when the metro, monorail and HSRL corridors are being planned in the vicinity. The project would cause damage to Sankey Lake. The axing of 150 trees will/would affect the sensitive biodiversity in and around the Sankey Tank.

The rationale of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike or BBMP in constructing a six-lane high-speed corridor in a residential area is questionable and we're yet to know whether pedestrians' safety has been factored in while designing the project plan. The Forum had sought Detailed Project Report from BBMP under Right to Information Act and nothing has been heard even after lapse of three weeks.

Tree-felling should not be a solution to avoid traffic jams. Tree-feeling would lead to ecological imbalance in the surrounding areas.

The cost of the project had allegedly escalated from Rs. 30 crore to Rs. 33 crore due to re-tendering.

Link to e-Petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/say-no-to-sankey-road-widening