City: Bengaluru

We have seen many vision groups earlier. Now it's time for an action group! While the Assembly election is just two years away, the State government has constituted Bengaluru Blue Print Action Group (BBPAG). Here is a quick look into the various vision groups/task forces that were formed in the past, why were they formed, what have they achieved and couldn’t. Also is the list of bigwigs who have made it to more than two groups. Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) was formed in 1999, when S M Krishna was the Chief Minister. It was…

Read: What exactly is wrong with BBPAG, and why are people protesting? In the backdrop of growing criticism over the formation of Bengaluru Blue Print Action Group (BBPAG), Citizen Matters spoke to some of the members of the Action Group. They spoke about their previous experiences in committees and the relevance of the Action Group over the constitutional body - Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC). Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD Biocon and President B.PAC I think every Vision Group has been able to drive change and achieve a few milestones. Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) did have a strong influence on the…

Joint Commissioner- East Yatish Kumar inspecting and penalising shops that violated plastic ban. Pic courtesy: SWM volunteers team Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has put its foot once again to show that plastic ban is here to stay, unlike many earlier instances of plastic ban notifications that were ineffective. With the National Green Tribunal postponing the hearing of petition against plastic ban to July 15, 2016, BBMP has released a notification that orders heavy fine on violators. The revised fines are listed below: Fines for manufacturing and sale of banned plastic items Criteria Fine for first time offense Fine for second…

As I drive past the roads of Bengaluru, all I see is huge hoardings of various developers and builders with beautiful pictures of residential and commercial complexes, wooing buyers of all types! Gone are the days when cinema ads dorned our roadsides. What hurts me most is the fancy names that these builders give to their projects, which come up on the grave of thousands of fruit-yielding trees or fertile fields-Green Orchards, Gardenia, Trees, Shrubs, Riverside, Lakeview and what not! Housing is important and it is but natural for every human being to look for a shelter. But this latest…

Would we choke off our lungs to “develop” ourselves? Certainly, in Bengaluru, we seem to be doing so. One lung is our green spaces, and the other is our lakes. Both are under threat and have shrunk so much in the past few decades that the quality of life in our city has been seriously impaired. Let’s leave trees and greenery aside for a minute, and concentrate on our lakes (or lack of them). From about 1,790 + lakes, we seem to be down to a hundred, and the greed of real estate sharks (fuelled by the very real need…

NICE road has been a boon for South Bengalureans, in achieiving connectivity from Tumkur Road to Hosur Road, especially for the trucks coming from Tumkuru side all the way from Maharashtra and going towards Tamilnadu. This also helps commute within Bengaluru such as from Kengeri to Electronic City, Banashankari to Electronic City etc. However it has been a death trap due to the enormous number of accidents. This road is not being treated as a highway but as a race track! 100 kmph is the minimum speed maintained on this road by cars. The parking lane on the extreme left…

Dear elected representatives of Bengaluru, I know all your birth dates by now and I surely do not want to wish you on your birthdays ever! I also know that you wish your voters on every possible occasion, even though it makes no real difference to their lives, and you haven't made any sincere effort to make that happen! Bills and posters under a flyover. Pic: HaSiRuMitra team Yes, you and your party workers have successfully made Bengaluru ugly with all those banners, hoardings and posters, which to my guess are mostly unpaid and unauthorised. Since you have set the…

The Metro is a convenient mode of transportation. But, once an individual gets off the metro, he/she needs to figure how to complete the last leg of the commute. Getting an auto can be a hassle and walking might also not be convenient. Instead, what if they could cover the rest of the distance on their own bicycle? While that sounds like a great idea, think about this: Are cycles even allowed on the metro? BMRCL only allows foldable cycles that fit through the baggage scanner. So, a majority of cyclists cannot take their cycles on the metro. Cycling enthusiasts…

The National Green Tribunal has delivered a landmark judgment against the massive SEZ project coming up on the wetlands of Agara and Bellandur lakes. The Tribunal has imposed a penalty of Rs 130 crore on Mantri Techzone and Core Mind Software Services, along with passing other important orders related to the case. What's more, they have also pronounced orders to regulate construction near lakes. A picture of the construction on the lake bed as on April 6th 2016. Pic: Shree DN Presenting a detailed report: NGT fines Bellandur SEZ developers; orders demolition of encroachment. Today, with this judgment, as citizens…

BBMP Property tax payment cycle is underway. Here's a guide that explains the process and lists the problems, along with the changes introduced this year. Note: This article was originally published on April 18th, and has been updated on May 6 2016, to reflect the BBMP's rollback of zonal classification. Finally BBMP has fixed the system to file property tax. This year there are changes: 1. Change in tariff 2. Change in zonal classifications (Rolled back on Apr 28th) The first one is a regular hike, which had to be done after expiry of every BLOCK period of FIVE years.…