Jockeying over: Time to fix Bengaluru city’s mess

Bengaluru: With the speculation on a Congress-JD(S) coalition in the BBMP mayoral poll ending, the city is set for a generous infusion of funds and a lot of pampering. Irrespective of whether the Palike restructuring happens or not, citizens are hoping for better roads and garbage management. The Siddaramaiah government may give a much needed boost to infrastructure projects that have been languishing in the last decade. Now we can even hope for better co-ordination between BBMP and the state government. Chandrashekar. G and Shwetha Satyanarayan ask experts about the cards political parties are playing and their advice to the new council.

BJP in power? They would have needed a begging bowl

If the BJP had formed the Council in BBMP this time, it would need the blessings of CM Siddaramaiah as there are Rs 10,000 crore debts hanging over BBMP. The CM would have ensured they beg for funds, which means it would not have been an advantage for the BJP to form the council. Now, with the Congress and JD(S) coalition in talks, it’s common knowledge that tension exists between the party leaders.

Both the party leaders (Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah) have hurled accusations at each other on many occasions. With the consolidation of two parties’ votes, Mr Siddaramiah is creating unity among the Opposition. Every time the Congress shares its votes, it loses those votes permanently. This is a trend we have seen since the mid 80’s across the country. The BJP now, however, should not look at buying independent candidates or wooing votes but should form a strong and responsible opposition.

It should prove itself worthy. Within the next two years, the Assembly elections will be held. As for those who voted for Congress, they will be dismayed. The Congress spent so much time on administrative reforms and even postponed the elections for restructuring BBMP. If they don’t fulfil their promises, the people will be angry. This will also have an interesting impact on parties like AAP and Loksatta as they will get good opportunities against this backdrop.

Prakash Belawadi, Member, B.Pac

Let’s hope the next council will not be dysfunctional

To achieve what chief minister Siddaramaiah envisages, he needs power, even in the BBMP and he is making a smart move in that direction. The JD(S) has always opposed restructuring, but one should not jump to the conclusion that the party will never support restructuring of the BBMP. Come to think of it, in 2007, it was former chief minister Kumaraswamy who extended the BBMP limits and upgraded Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.

Mr Kumaraswamy himself has been a good administrator and we should hope he will understand it’s necessary for restructuring the BBMP. The JD(S) has never held power in BBMP and hence the party may not know how the civic body works. Also, with Congress being in power in the state, the party knows that at any given time, they can dissolve the elections, if the JD(S) tries to disrupt development. However, when working in coalition, changes in principles and beliefs don’t happen overnight. We should wait and watch.

Meanwhile, instead of worrying about all these future developments, we should hope that the next council will not be dysfunctional and chaotic like the last council. The JD(S) should use this opportunity to prove that they can deliver efficient governance too and the state government should implement projects that will develop the city.

R.K. Misra, Former Member, ABIDe

The CM should dissolve the BBMP and hold fresh polls

If the MLAs, MLCs and MPs believe in decentralization of governance, they should not vote in the municipal council, not even to decide which party should rule. Surprisingly the same leaders from a major political party have admitted that decentralization is important for the development of the city and they very much believe in decentralization. But when the time comes, they have bowed to ‘party beliefs’. At this point of time, the right move for Congress would be to wait for the President to sign the trifurcation Bill and dissolve the BBMP.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah should not worry much about who’s coming to power and who’s forming the council. Thinking about restructuring and maintaining the ‘Brand Bengaluru’ image is a long story. But for the moment, the need is to improve the functioning of the BBMP. And for that, this council should be dissolved. The CM should restructure the BBMP as per the recommendations of B.S Patil Committee report and hold fresh elections.

Ashwin Mahesh, Urban planning expert

Brand Bengaluru – A victim of politics

The mid-19th Century quote of ‘Politics makes for strange bed-fellows’ gets a new meaning in the ongoing political saga for the BBMP Mayor election. Thanks to the resort politics and the lesser known provision of MPs, MLAs and MLCs having the right to vote, the BBMP has now thrown up a new ‘Million Dollar’ question – Which party will get the Mayor post? All this manoeuvring has only weakened the Brand Bengaluru.

The statesmanship of today demands embracing true spirit of decentralization and strengthening of local self-government. When the MPs don’t vote in the state assembly, a very important question emerges - Why should the MPs and MLAs be able to vote in the BBMP? Going further the Metropolitan Planning Committee must be led by the local self-governments that make up the metropolitan area. The CM has the responsibility of the entire state and it’s surprising to see him being made the head of the Metropolitan Planning Committee.

The continued obsession of the Chief Ministers and the state government to handle the affairs of the city must now come to an end and unless we adopt the spirit of the 74th Amendment and decentralise our city government, we cannot truly strengthen Brand Bengaluru.

Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO, Namma Bengaluru Foundation

Expectations of the citizens are high

Two important aims of political parties are to come to power and stay in power. After spending so much on elections and the Assembly elections to be held in two years, the political parties will understand that if the BBMP is not restructured, it will hit them bad in the elections. Once JD (S) comes to power, it will understand that the expectations of the citizens are high and the BBMP needs to be restructured.

Mohandas Pai, Urban expert

What will be the fate of the B.S. Patil Committee report?

As the Congress teams up with JD(S) to take control of the BBMP, the question on people’s minds is if the B.S. Patil Committee report on restructuring Bengaluru will have any meaning. Casting aside speculation that the report will either be dumped or remain an academic document, the committee has been given until January to chalk out the details of the rules and laws that will be part of a unique act to govern greater Bengaluru.

According to V. Ravichandar, one of the committee members, they have been entrusted with the responsibility of bring out an “actionable” document. Since the restructured Penta Corporation (five parts) needs a new, separate Act, the committee will focus on the functioning of various sectors like Ombudsman, finance commission and ward committees. “We are giving our heart, soul and mind to bring out an effective Act. But I will not be able to comment on whether the report will remain an academic work or be put into action,” he said.

For instance, the committee details minute aspects of composition of ombudsman, functioning, who has to receive complaints and what action is to be taken. The Geographical Information System (GIS) on properties should be detailed and a permanent centre has to be set up to house GIS documentation. The report has the data base of 20 lakh properties across BBMP jurisdiction including high rises and vacant sites. This has to be matched with the BBMP GIS data and updated for better revenue collection model, he added.