The proposal to have a new Act for holistic growth of Bengaluru which is home to over 10 million people has given a ray of hope to its residents. Citizens and urban experts want the government to make various agencies accountable by bringing them under a single umbrella. This should go a long way in providing better governance of the city.
With the city growing rapidly and getting more unwieldy in the bargain, its roads have suffered, garbage collection is getting harder and its traffic is becoming unmanageable. Now Deputy Chief Minister , G. Parameshwar, who is also Bengaluru Development Minister, has revealed that the city’s legislators and MP believe the solution lies in a new law specific to it and separate from the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 that applies to the entire state as its problems are different from that of other towns and cities.
While this sounds logical considering that Bengaluru today has a population of over 10 million that is still growing, the response to a new law is mixed among people and experts. The idea had been proposed in 2010 by the ABIDe Task Force, which was all for a Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Governance (BMRG) Bill, a draft law bringing in reforms in planning, strengthening the executive powers of the Mayor and ensuring greater citizen participation in local governance, besides integrating all infrastructure development. A Restructuring Committee set up by the government has also more recently called for division of the BBMP into five corporations for better administration of the city.
While civic evangelist, V. Ravichandar and urban expert, Ashwin Mahesh believe a new Act to govern Benglauru is the need of the hour, urban expert, Mahalakshmi Parthasarathy begs to differ. When there is already a Bengaluru Metro politan Region Governance Bill pending approval, what is the need for yet another new law , she argues.
“If the government is now again proposing a new Act, it should hold wide public discussion and explain to the people how the BBMP will have authority over the BWSSB, which plans on its own and has its own budget. We need clarity on how structural, strategic and financial accountability will be fixed, ” she says.
Also, pointing out that the state budget has proposed a transport authority, she believes the government should clarify what the roles of parastatal agencies like BWSSB, BMTC, BMRDA, BMRCL will be if it is set up. “On one hand the government says the new Act will help bring all the agencies under one umbrella and on the other, different authorities are being formed. These ideas and proposals don’t synchronize with each other and this is dangerous for a city like Bengaluru,” she warns, adding,“What is the point in having multiple Acts? Governance structure should be clear. You convince me first in what way the present Act is not sufficient to govern the city. Who is accountable for money spent? You cannot disregard the existing Act unless you point out lacunae in it.”
Why bring out new laws that can never be implemented?
That Bengaluru needs better governance is not disputed by anyone. In fact, as civic activists point out, the 74th amendment to the Constitution has mandated the formation of the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) and integration of different civic agencies under a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) to monitor their projects and coordinate among them.
Civic evangelist, V. Ravi chandar fully supports the recommendation of the three-member restructuring committee too , which has in its recent draft report suggested the restructuring of the BBMP for more efficient functioning. The committee has also called for better coordination among civic agencies for the holistic growth of the city, he points out.
“Restructuring of the BBMP into five entities with 400 wards as suggested by the committee will help solve issues like garbage locally. Like in London, each of the wards will be able to set up waste processing units locally. If they are not able to set them up , the processing can be outsourced to the neighbouring ward with a facility to treat the waste, albeit for a price, “Mr. Ravichandar notes. For people of the city, however, a new legislation or the lack of it makes little difference as all they want is to see is the result. Says Pradeep G, an architect, “The people of Bengaluru don’t really care whether the government wants to bring in a new Act or go by the old. Essentially they are looking for basic amenities like pothole -free roads, seamless traffic , better garbage management and freedom from the stray dog menace and stinking drains.The organizational structure really does not matter to them. What matters is delivery, due diligence, efficiency and accountability.”
What he does believe is that the tax payers’ money should not be wasted in drawing up new laws, rules and master plans, which are not implemented, leaving the city as dirty and lacking in amenities as ever. “Why doesn’t the government simply strengthen the existing Metropolitan Plann ing Committee and ensure that all civic agencies work in tandem ?” he asks pertinently.
