If the BBMP elections are held as per the High Court directions to the GoK then before the end of July 2009 we will have 148 elected councillors.
Almost 30 months without local government elections.
Yes BBMP is a local government, but what remains to be seen is whether an electorate can set policy, direction and schemes for a local government agenda?
Why should the Public want BBMP to be local government? We see where the visions of GoI, GoK and the Corporates are taking us !
Bengaluru will be full of flyovers, concrete, steel skywalks, and in general infrastructure. Bengaluru might regain its lost glory of a city bonded into global economic competition, but what will be the quality of life...?
While we have left behind the pensioners paradise of yesteryear, will the Public and BBMP elected councillors stand up for a city which does not lurch from crisis to crisis.
In the last year we the Public have observed :
- Bengaluru had a cholera / gastro epidemic in 2007 (BBMP caused it but their Admin denied it)
- Ongoing Solid waste management problems ( BBMP has broken its head)
- Deteriorating Air Quality
- Increasing Carbon footprint huge amounts of roads, construction, resource consumption..
- Master plan 2015 allowing many new Skyscrapers with an FAR upto 4 in CBD areas leading to huge population increase and traffic congestion
- Removal of large chunk of Green belt allowing more urbanisation
- Huge minimum 60ft wide roads linking peri- urbanised areas but cutting through villages
- No arrangment for water supply to 110 villages
- No idea when and if a water supply project like GBWASP will be completed
- A Revised CDP for JNNURM prepared for the villagers and their areas secretly in 2007-08 without their knowledge no consultations were held by CRISIL.
BBMP is to be associated with the Planning function, maybe by divesting it from the BDA under the JNNURM reforms. This is something which clearly needs a ToR to be prepared by the Public.
The Community Participation Law is another reform. Is the proposed content of such an important law known? what are the local public inputs, who should really make them?
Lets break the silence on all these issues and speak up for a change....
ಈ Forum topic ಅನ್ನು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರಿಗೆ ಕಳಿಸಿ
Through elections.praja.in,
Through elections.praja.in, Praja has initiated a quality discussion forum for the Lok Sabha elections.
The BBMP elections (yes the delay holding it is scandalous) should be around the corner. It might be good for Murali Sir to check out where all the Lok Sabha candidates stand on holding BBMP elections and what will they do if elected (or not elected). More importantly the Praja group could consider tailoring the site to make a definitive impact in the Corporation elections on issues that matter. These elections are won on slender margins and there is scope to make informed choice.
Here are a few thoughts for consideration for the BBMP election and future election based discourses
- Maybe as part of the registration at Praja, we ask for information (not complusory) on constituency (Corporation / Assembly / Lok Sabha) - the last 2 can be computed based on the Corporation constituency
- This will allow for constituency wise discussions to be held by smaller sub groups belonging to that constituency
- A scope for candidates for a constituency to post their views, responses to the discussion forum and view them by filtering
- And another idea for consideration - like in the US where one is a Registered Republican, Democrat, Independent why not have another field in the user profile setting out leanings towards any major party, independent candidates or neutral. This allows readers to discount or give credence to comments depending on where it originates from (eg. Democrats say aw shucks to Fox News; Republicans say aw shucks to the NY Times).
Guess you get the drift.