Skip to Content

Blogs

The upcoming BMR bill - draft

Urban DevelopmentGovernance

Continuing from the mention of two clear asks post BBMP elections, here is a regional governance reform proposal being prepared by Abide. The close to final draft of Bangalore Metropolitan Regional governance act is attached. Here are some mention worthy points. Detailed review will be very much appreciated by those who may be looking for them. Talk sense and less-rhetoric as much as possible please.

Elections over, time for Regional bill, and State Finance Commission

Urban DevelopmentGovernance

Good riddance. With the local election drama over, it is time to focus on things that will really empower a local government for Bangalore. And they are?

Dare they talk!!!?

Governance

The poor turnout in the posh areas of the city and the general voter apathy was cause enough for several politicians to spit fire at Bangalore, and to hint that if people did not turn out to vote they had no right to criticise the ruling class. For the full report in the New Indian Express, click here

The Transport Minister in-charge of Bangalore, R Ashok, scolded people for watching films and going to restaurants instead of voting and called for making voting compulsory.“IT is a shame on part of educated people. I don’t know why these people have no time even to come to polling stations to elect a right candidate" he added.

Hubli Railway Workshop

Commuter RailPublic Transport

Rail projects on track: Muniyappa  :

Complaints to MoS Shri K H Muniyappa on Hubli Railway Workshop

On complaints about decreasing work load at the Hubli workshop and reports of closing it down, General Manager of South-Western Railway Kuldeep Chaturvedi termed the reports as false and said that upgrade of the workshop was under way and once completed there would be enough work for all.

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/28/stories/2010032855710600.htm

Union Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa said that most of the announced projects for Karnataka in the Railway Budget would start soon and that survey for them would begin shortly.

BBMP Elections - Who could be in the driver’s seat?

Urban DevelopmentGovernance

 When there is a low turn out the party in power looses. So BJP may be facing the music. This is the conclusion of the TV News-9 program that had in the days evening live. This was done by “CVOTER” for the TV-9 channel. Mr. Prakash, Narayan swamy of JDS BJP and Cong were in the debate along with two more participants, whose name I could not get. 

Out of 229 seats the magic number to win is 150. The forecast is 

  1. BJP 89-91
  2. Cong 68-76
  3. JDS 14-22
  4. Other  17-25 

So is it that Operation Lotus part II will be enacted? 

 The exit polls gave the following result. Politics 

Separate lanes for emergency service vehicles

TrafficTraffic jams

Often do we hear a screaming ambulance held up in traffic signals of some busy roads such as K.H. Road or Mallya Road that also lead to important hospitals (Nimhans or Mallya hospitals). I really wonder if any of these ambulances make it on time?

I dont know whether the traffic police are informed by the policemen at the previous signals or the time that the cops have to clear the traffic for the ambulance is too short?! I'm sure that they don't do it on purpose, but the strategy of handling this situation must be surely wrong! and we turnout to be helpless onlookers...

So, I think that it would be more sensible to have separate emergency lanes (similar to the existing auto lanes-that I feel are not very important though...) for ambulances and fire-brigades at least on highly congested roads leading to important hospitals...

The very thought of having our dear one in one of the ambulances that will fail to make on time to the hospital is so horrifying that this is the time to bring in the change.

With best regards,

Nityashree

Town Planning - Ribbon and Ring development

Urban DevelopmentGovernance

 Towns existed many centuries before the Industrial revolution. The pre industrial towns were glorified villages in short for obvious reasons.  The degree of urbanization increases sharply as industrialization increases. Even with an inherent flaw in the urban mechanism as opposed to nature, the urban way of life has definite irresistible advantages. 

1.      Man is a social animal

2.      Economic drivers

3.      Easy access to goods and services

4.      Education and seat of learning

5.      Safety 

Sakrama scheme

Urban DevelopmentGovernance

SAKRAMA SCHEME WILL COME IN NEXT 10 DAYS OR 4 YRS.  Ten days since govt needs money. Four yrs since their will be objections (Carlton Fire Bangalore / Park Street fire Kolkata). But you cant just wish it away. Unauthorised Bldgs are there for ages. Penalising BBMP is not a possibility. More practical sol would be to read  Bldg Bye laws , chapter on Fire Safety. Let the users of the bldg be aware of the issue.  Any better suggestions .. Courts maybe...

jaago re

Everything else

During run up to BBMP elections we saw some down to earth pictures of  condition of our pot holed roads in some parts of Bangalore. We have seen excellent roads (plastic green Roads ) in Bangalore which bt virtue of  Tech involvement does not allow potholes  see All major roads - Cubbon road -Trinity circle area, Tv Tower rd...Ring Road. It is called Modified Bitumen ( Poly mer added correct percentage to Bitumen at right temp). Why then aren't smaller rds in Bangalore given the same treatment ? Now that you will get new corporators pl ask them about pot holed roads in your area. Technology has been passed by Cen Rd Research Inst , Min Env Forests.. Bangalore has 1000 km ,TN about 1500km... such rds.

Contractors hold the key. Annual work order has to survive on pot holes appearing at regular intervals. Think you can tackle this. Get more gen from Print media on Plastic Roads in Bangalore.

bogus voter list

We received voters slip (chits) from several parties before BBMP elections. Voting slip is the small chit with your particulars & may be candidates pic. Some of the chits apply to you fully. Others from the same flat do not make any sense though the entry Bldg or colony  is at the bottom and flat / dwelling no to the right lower end.

What you have is called a bogus voters case. If you have any such Voters chits that you don’t use (doesn’t match your profile) just give details.  Praja could handle the Master Voters list which records   apartment bldgs / colonies  as a location in specific  ward. You all have got your names corrected earlier yet new names have appeared against your dwelling.

 

Solution to disparity

Urban DevelopmentGovernance

Do we need new states?

The more long-lasting solution to regional and intra-state disparities is to create viable proposals for reducing them within the existing framework of governance rather than create new political entities. Unless there is substantially better governance, there is no guarantee that a new political entity will lead to better economic performance.

Interesting to find this analysis today. I dont see more states as the solution. So, that throws up the larger question I was discussing with some praje on a dry, soda filled, friday night. Is the unitary state outlived its utility? Will a federation structure work for a diverse country like India?

New Rajdhani train to Delhi

Commuter RailPublic Transport

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/60377/special-trains-clear-extra-rush.html

A new tri-weekly Rajdhani Express commenced its maiden run between Bangalore City and Hazrat Nizammudin on Friday (March 26). ... from Bangalore City at 8.20 p.m. will reach Hazrat Nizammudin at 5.50 a.m ... run on Fridays, Saturdays and Tuesdays and reach Hazrat Nizammudin on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays ... run via Shri Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam, Gooty, Dhone, Kurnool Town, Mahbubnagar, Secunderabad, Kazipet, Nagpur, Bhopal and Jhansi to reach Hazrat Nizammuddin ... leave at 8.50 p.m. and arrive at Bangalore City at 6.40 a.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays

Its good for Bangalore, as Summer vacation has started &  now citizens can travell comfortably to Delhi. It was long pending demand of Karnataka.

 

 

spaces under flyovers

action: numerous elevated corridors that have filled the city

reason : construction for metro rail, flyovers

induced reaction : enormous spaces below the flyovers

elaborated: the metro corridors that have filled bangalore and felled trees have GIANT columns that span a distance of 80 ft from each other and have a diameter ranging from 15 to 30ft ( some whic we measured for a case study for educational purposes) . these spaces are sooo huge and big that it could be made multifunctional starting from landscaping them to actually making them commercial spaces or just using them for parking. Also they be made into cafes or makeshift bookstores.

question: what exactly can be done with these spaces?

 

 

Whats really ahead after BBMP election

Urban DevelopmentGovernance

dear all,

Its time to start redefining in our own minds, on who is responsible for what after the BBMP elections.

In the vacuum these last few years, MLAs’ filed the space for citizen grieviences.The BBMP engineers started to come directly under them. Task forces were set up to almost run the city. The parstatals (BDA, BWSSB etc) became more a law unto themselves. (The elections themselves will not change the parastals; a governance bill is required for that) .And citizen direct invovelement, even thro a badly run and set up ward committee disappeared (Again a governance reform issue).

First thing, is to realize that a MLA’s job is to provide and monitor the laws and rules of the State. He should have nothing to do with how or where a road is built in a ward.

The councilor is responsible for ward priorities and resource allocations, through direct interaction with citizens or ward committees. He has nothing to do with the engineering aspects or the actual commercial tendering decisions.

Some of them have moral and positional oversight over others, but not direct interference in the others jurisdiction.

Syndicate content

Praja.in comment guidelines

Posting Guidelines apply for comments as well. No foul language, hate mongering or personal attacks. If criticizing third person or an authority, you must be fact based, as constructive as possible, and use gentle words. Avoid going off-topic no matter how nice your comment is. Moderators reserve the right to either edit or simply delete comments that don't meet these guidelines. If you are nice enough to realize you violated the guidelines, please save Moderators some time by editing and fixing yourself. Thanks!



about seo