Articles by Akshatha M

There were less of suggestions and more of ire against the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) at the public meeting convened by the BDA to seek suggestion and opinion from public before drafting the Revised Master Plan-2031. Bengalureans who are upset over the routine exercise of convening meetings before introducing the RMP, used the opportunity to attack BDA for the kind of mess it has created in the city. The BDA convened a public meeting on RMP-2031 at Ambedkar Bhavan in Miller’s Road on Wednesday. Members of Citizen Action Forum (CAF), the city-based civic group, questioned the BDA’s power to call…

KSTC buses will ply as usual after 6pm. Pic: Pavan Kulkarni With Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation Staff and Workers’ Federation calling for a day-long strike opposing the provisions of the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, KSRTC and BMTC buses will remain off road in Bengaluru on Thursday (April 30th). Confirming the strike call to Citizen Matters, Staff and Workers’ Federation General Secretary H V Anantha Subba Rao said that the strike will last for 12 hours, from 6 am to 6 pm. “As many as 1,20,000 employees of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation…

Even as the rescue operations are underway in the earthquake-hit Nepal, over 200 people from Karnataka, majority of whom are Bengalureans, are still stranded in the mountain nation. While 150 people from the State have safely reached their homeland in last two days thanks to the rescue operation, a large number of people are yet to fly back. Ritesh Kumar Singh, Disaster Management Secretary, told Citizen Matters that the State government has put all its efforts to get in touch with people from Karnataka who are stranded in Nepal and make their return hassle-free. “Evacuation measures have been taken up…

The Karnataka High Court has set aside the order of a single bench that directed the State government to conduct BBMP polls before May 30th, and has directed the State government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold the election within six months from the date of dissolution. With the HC judgment, the State government has got a breathing space to carry out proposed restructuring of the BBMP and conduct the election. The division bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy delivered the judgement on the appeal filed by the State government against the…

Karnataka High Court will decide on the schedule of council elections for Bengaluru. Pic: Poornima Dasharathi The Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka which has completed the hearing of the State government’s appeal against the Single Bench order to conduct BBMP polls before May 30th, has posted the judgment to April 24th, 2015. The court also extended the interim stay refraining the State Election Commission (SEC) from continuing the election procedures till the verdict. During the day-long hearing that took place on April 22nd, the division bench sought to know from the petitioners and the respondents if the…

High Court asked the LDA to come up with a plan for restoration of both the lakes, and hold meetings of authorities, builders and the residents. Pic: Shree D N A report submitted by the Lake Development Authority (LDA) to the High Court of Karnataka on April 13th, has revealed the sorry state of the two lakes: Agara and Bellandur. The report explains how the lakes shrunk in last one and a half decade and the threats they are facing in the form of land loss and sewage flow. LDA submitted the report to the HC during the hearing of…

The High Court division bench on Monday passed an interim order restraining the State Election Commission (SEC) from declaring calendar of events for BBMP election temporarily. The court passed the interim order as the hearing of the petition filed by the State government against the HC single bench order to conduct election before May 30th 2015, was not completed on Monday. The final hearing of the case has been posted to April 22nd. Division bench comprising of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy passed an interim order since the SEC had not yet announced the election…

BBMP spends an average of Rs 1.35 lakh on food and other arrangements during council meetings. Pic: Shree D N The five-year term of BBMP council has come to an end and namma Bengaluru is gearing up for yet another election. Before you get into election mode, ever wondered how much public money has been spent on your corporators and how frequently the BBMP council meetings were held in last five years? Here is a peek into such lesser-known facts. While council meetings are considered as an opportunity for the elected representatives to discuss serious issues concerning the public, many…

Reservation in as many as 46 wards have been changed in the final roster when compared to the draft. Out of 198 wards, 97 wards have been reserved for women. It is for the time in BBMP election, 50 per cent seats have been reserved for women under women’s quota.s Corporators from the BJP who have alleged foul play in the preparation of reservation roster and have blamed the government of involving in vindictive politics, have approached the High Court. They have appealed the court to quash the reservation roster. N R Ramesh, who was the floor leader in the…

Even as the High Court division bench refused to grant an interim stay in the BBMP election case on Wednesday, the State government has decided to call for a special session in the Legislative Assembly on April 20th. The special session is called to pass a bill on amending Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act, and enable disbanding the BBMP and trifurcating it. Running short of time, the government is making every effort to dissolve the BBMP before the State Election Commission notifies the election dates. The decision on calling for the legislative session has come in the wake of the…