Will take time to set wrongs right, Congress govt in state for 19 months
It is the instinct of the individual to point a finger at the government every time something goes wrong. In the minds of the people, it is the faceless institution that is held accountable for every woe, whether it is traffic or garbage on the streets or crimes against women.
However, if you really get down to talking about the performance of the Congress as the ruling party, you must remember that it has only been in power for one year and seven months.
We have to go further back and assess the situation the BJP left us with. When the Congress government entered power, Karnataka was looking at its highest ever deficit, all we had to work with were drained-out treasuries. So all those who expected miracles need to put their dreams on hold, for things need to be set right before progress can be made.
Our CM Siddaramaiah has presented seven budgets as Finance Minister and knows what he is doing as far as the state’s coffers go. Financially, we are slowly, but surely getting back on track.
Civic development is another story. The government takes care of the larger picture, yes, but it is the BBMP that has been left with the day-to-day responsibilities. The fate of the city rests solely in its hands.
The BBMP is ruled by the BJP, during which time it has run the institution into the ground. The Palike stands on the brink of bankruptcy. There is no money to pay for anything, the IT department recently conducted a major raid on the BBMP headquarters and employees are not being paid their salaries.
The IT/BT capital has earned itself a new moniker – the garbage city. The previous government failed our city and the Palike has continued in the same vein.
Corruptions and scams became synonymous with the BJP it was only last month that nine civic officials were suspended and 40 contractors blacklisted for their involvement in the e-tendering scam.
They were hauled up for creating loopholes in the system to award projects to favoured contractors. All this has bled the coffers dry. Meanwhile, the budgets presented by the BJP were unrealistic, at best. There is plenty of revenue coming in from Bengaluru, which was poorly managed.
Expenditure must be decided based on revenue, you cannot spend money you don’t have. This simple rule seems to have eluded our predecessors completely.
The Congress has tried to do its part to rectify the situation the TenderSure projects, for instance, has introduced a new benchmark for quality – something that was compromised earlier.
My only worry is that the road should have been widened before the project began, but that can be rectified in the next phase, if necessary. At least now, pedestrians will have well-made footpaths.
We are living in a city of well-travelled people, who understand that in foreign countries, people walk kilometres every day. In India, neither the rich nor the poor walk, because of the state of the footpaths.
Bengaluru has witnessed a spate of sexual crimes against women and children in the past year, all of which have been played up by the media. I appreciate the media for this for it has created an awareness that didn’t exist before.
It’s very unfortunate that these incidents took place at all, but I honestly believe that it does not indicate an increase in the number of instances so much as an increase in awareness.
Victims and their families are more open to taking action against offenders and as the CM stressed in his Rajyotsava Day speech – they will not get away with it. Every rapist will be brought to heel. When harsh action is taken against a few, it will set an example to all those who think they can get away with it.
Last, the garbage crisis is growing more imminent every day. The Palike is struggling to find a sustainable solution. We need to work out an arrangement that everybody will profit from.
There is no point of asking people to segregate at source unless they are given an incentive. I have discussed this on the floor of the House and my plan is bring about single window projects for people to invest and take care of dry waste.
My vision is that garbage should be bought from the people, which will encourage them to segregate in their houses. Since the collectors are paying for it, they will be less prone to dumping it on the streets. This will take garbage off the streets and clean up our city automatically.
It is too early to pass judgments on the Congress government. We have only had 19 months to prove ourselves. I cannot make this argument three years from now and expect it to hold water.
But wrongs have to be set right, for the city needs a strong foundation. We are putting together a blueprint for Bengaluru, which will bring a lot of things into perspective. Let's not be hasty with our judgements – nothing worth having is obtained easily.
The writer is the MLA who represents the Shanthinagar constituency
