Even while civic groups and urban experts are crying foul over BDA's claims of consulting the public on the proposed steel flyover project that threatens more of the city's green cover, Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George has succeeded in only creating more rancour at the meeting called to discuss the project with legislators and MPs. What will it take for the government to hold a real and meaningful consultation with the people on the project which many have very real misgivings about.
With the government’s so- called consultation with city legislators and MPs on the controversial steel flyover planned between Chalukya Circle and Hebbal on Tuesday ending with the BJP throwing a temper tantrum and minister K J George remaining as adamant as ever, its back to square one as far as the project goes.
The minister, who found the “1,300 protestors” against the flyover too small a group to consider, wasn’t even willing to pause and wonder if the government might just this time be out of touch with public sentiment. Is it failing to sense the people’s real anguish at Bengaluru’s steady loss of green cover and the heat island effect this has been creating all around?
And can it afford to dismiss the public outcry as mere politicking by the BJP despite the many relevant arguments being made against the project? Urban planning expert Ashwin Mahesh, clearly believes it cannot. He points out that the very goal of a public consultation is to reach out to people and hear their views with respect. “The BDA’s consultation for the steel flyover was just a sham. For any public consultation the people should be informed about all details of a project and fliers should be delivered door-to-door telling them about them, and giving details about who is saying what about it, so that the public can decide,” he notes, regretting that this process was ignored by the BDA when carrying out its public consultation that received merely over 200 responses and that too not all of them in favour of the steel flyover.
Read | A minister and his friends can’t decide on city’s development: Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Environment Support Group coordinator, Leo F. Saldanha too observes that under the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1962, the public must be involved at the stage of conceptualisation, approval and costing of an urban infrastructure project that involves changes in land use. “The plan and budget must be put in public domain and public hearings held to ensure there is no violation of the statutes in any form. The steel flyover proposed by the BDA and being backed by the Chief Minister, is being promoted in violation of this law, although the High Court has on many occasions asked the state government to follow it,” he deplores.
With the steel flyover qualifying as an Area Development Project under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2006, it also needs to be approved by the Environmental Clearance Authority, which will demand a comprehensive Environment Impact Assessment and an Environmental Public Hearing to give it, the activist explains.
“But the BDA claims the approval of the state Cabinet is sufficient to get going with the project . This is an absolutely wrong presumption. Since the enactment of the Nagarpalika Act, 1992, such projects can only be proposed after due review from the economic, social, financial and environmental angles by the Metropolitan Planning Committee. Only after its approval can they be forwarded by the State Finance Commission to the Cabinet for final approval, pending other statutory clearances,” he underlines.
Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister, Ananth Kumar, has written to Bengaluru Development minister, K.J George urging him not to go ahead with the steel flyover between Chalukya Circle and Hebbal unless a wider consultation is held with citizens groups and experts and an environment impact assessment study is done. “The way in which the details of the project are being made public in instalments has given rise to more questions than answers,” he noted, adding that people were agitated over the project cost escalation and the urgency the government is showing in executing it.
‘Public consultation, a main key regulator’
“Major cities around the world have understood the importance of sustained development and the involvement of people in it. The process of public consultation is duly followed in Commonwealth countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zea land and Australia. It is employed to improve transparency and efficiency,” notes Mr Naresh Narasimhan, founding member of the Citizens' Against Steel Flyover.
Detailing the procedure followed by these nations, he says, "It's a three step procedure. The first involves communication of the government's plan. The second sees views of interested and affected groups being gathered in a public hearing. In the next step, the government offers stakeholders a big role in implementation of the project, giving sufficient time to the public to respond.” By contrast, the civic activist points out, the BDA gave a little over 48 hours for the public to respond to the steel flyover project and that too via email.
“For a mega project like the steel bridge, which affects the city at large, its people should have been consulted at the very time of conceptualisation,” he stresses.
Ms P Mahalakshmi, secretary of the Citizens’ Action Forum recalls that the controversial Peddar Road flyover project in Mumbai was shelved by the government in the face of the wide opposition to it. “When the taxpayer's money is going to be spent on such projects, they have every right to know in detail where it is going and how it will benefit them," she contends.
Citizens for Bengaluru meet Governor
Members of Citizens for Bengaluru met Governor Vajubhai Vala on Tuesday and appealed to him in a memorandum to intervene and stop the construction of the controversial steel flyover. Mr Naresh Narasimhan, founding member of the voluntary group,later told reporters that the Governor had promised to study the issue and take the opinion of the Advocate General before taking any action on it. Asked about Bengaluru Development Minister, K J George's statement that no civic group had given him a memorandum against the steel bridge, he retorted, "If Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is aware of our campaign against the flyover, how can Mr George say he is not? We had invited him for a debate on the flyover, but he did not turn up. Every public letter and email was marked to him, but if he is still not aware of our views, we will send him a memorandum.”
