Bangalore: While the city is already paying for its unplanned growth, Bangaloreans have been given little time to reflect on the draft rules for a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) that could make a difference to its future development.
The government which sprang the rules on the people mid-November with no prior intimation, is giving them time only until December 10 to file their objections/ suggestions.
Even worse, the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee Rules, 2013 do not have provision for active participation by the people or public consultation when planning the city’s development.
Miffed at being ignored, several resident welfare associations are charging the government with denying them their Constitutional right to participate in urban governance “When the 74th Constitutional Amendment makes greater participation of people at the grassroots in decision- making mandatory for urban local self-governance, a planning committee being set up for chalking the city’s future growth would naturally be expected to rely more on people’s views and suggestions. But the MPC draft rules have no role for citizens of Bangalore,” they lament.
Strangely, while the draft says the MPC must have the Chief Minister, MLAs and MLCs as its members, it has made no place on the committee for the Mayor who represents the largest and most important section of the Bangalore Metropolitan Area or the BBMP commissioner, note civic activists. In their view this is a clear indication that the government is not interested in devolution of planning power or giving autonomy to local bodies.
“It defeats the letter and spirit of the 74th amendment that mandates real devolution of power to citizens and RWAs who are the real stakeholders of the city,” they say, pointing out that the draft rules have not brought parastatal bodies like the BDA, BMRDA and BWSSB under the control of local government either.
“For the MPC to be effective and come up with comprehensive plan for the entire city, it is important that all civic agencies follow the plans it draw up. But this too has not been considered,” they add worriedly.
There is also concern about how vague the draft rules are on the jurisdiction of the MPC as a regional metropolitan planning authority. The fact that the notification, which was supposed to cover all cities with over a 10 lakh population like Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore, Mangalore and Belgaum, is only confined to Bangalore has given rise to more speculation on the government's intentions — none of it positive.
Next: ‘Draft rules for the MPC are contradictory & ineffective’
‘Draft rules for the MPC are contradictory & ineffective’
Unhappy with the way the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) is being hurried through without adequate public consultation , many civic activists and urban planners feel the government should scrap it and simply pass the already drafted Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Governance (BMRG) Bill , which is more comprehensive in its tackling of urban issues.
“Instead of opting for a Metropolitan Planning Committee only to ensure that the Union urban development ministry continues to release funds, the government of Karnataka should pass the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Governance (BMRG) Bill and all the issues related to metropolitan planning will be taken care of.
The current draft rules for the MPC are contradictory and ineffective in terms of concepts, jurisdiction and members,” says Dr Ashwin Mahesh, an urban planner, who teaches Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management — Bangalore ( IIMB).
Ms Mahalakshmi Parthasarthy, president of the Bangalore Residents Association Confederation Ensemble (BRACE), that represents over 600 RWAs notes that despite the effort and resources that have gone into drawing up the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Governance Bill, it continues to gather dust. “This is a more comprehensive bill aimed at both planning and governance while the MPC bill falls short of true governance,” she argues.
Vijayan Menon, president of the Koramangala Residents’ Welfare Association agrees that the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Governance Bill is more comprehensive. “It takes care of planning and also citizen participation. An MPC Bill without caring for citizen participation and issues concerning ward committees does not serve the same purpose, ” he contends.
Next: ‘The state government will retain control of Bangalore’s planning’
‘The state government will retain control of Bangalore’s planning’
Kathyayini Chamaraj
We are happy that at least 20 years after the passing of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, the government has decided to draw up rules for setting up a Metropolitan Planning Committee(MPC) for the city. But there are major flaws in the way the rules have been drawn up and notified.
No prior public intimation was given on the draft rules as the Right to Information Act ( RTI Act) mandates. It is unfair to allow only 15 days to file objections to the draft rules that the citizenry did not know about.
The draft rules do not have provision for representation of civil society in the MPC either. The MPC has elected representatives and officials and just two non-official experts in town planning as special invitees. There is no representation for the real stakeholders of the metropolitan area: the citizens and their associations.
While keeping civil society at bay, two-thirds of the MPC members are elected representatives. Strangely, while the BBMP Commissioner and Mayor are not listed among its members, the Chief Minister and urban development ministers are.
Also, the draft rules do not adhere to the spirit of the 74th Constitutional Amendment. The current bill seems to have only two functions — to comply with the High Court order in letter but not in substance and let the state government remain in control of Bangalore’s planning and the parastatals that are currently doing independent sectoral planning for the city, especially the BDA.
Going by the draft rules, the BDA, BWSSB, and Bescom will continue to be accountable to the state government and not the local bodies.
Officers drawn from the state administrative service run these organisations and report to the state government, which controls their funding. Without effective control over these organizations, the MPC will only be a toothless body.
And while the BMRDA was supposed to be abolished once the MPC was set up, an amendment has been made to the KMC Act to continue with it. According to the draft rules the MPC will send its plan to it for approval and forwarding to the government.
The BMRDA , which also has powers to direct all planning and development authorities within the metropolitan region, will then be a super-bureaucracy accountable to the state government.
Moreover, will the Chief Minister who is chairman of the BMRDA, disapprove the plans made by the MPC of which he is a member too?
The writer is trustee, CIVIC Bangalore
