City: Bengaluru

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…

On hearing a commotion outside the house a little while ago I looked out of my office window and, to my horror, saw a car apparently driving straight into an auto - a policeman who was between the two vehicles managed to save himself by jumping aside in the nick of time. A huge crowd gathered immediately and many irate individuals were shouting at the driver and trying to get him to get out of the car. Afraid of what might happen if they did manage to get hold of him, I went out and appealed to the few policemen…

If you are a frequent visitor to Lalbagh, you may have seen the various animals and birds that have made it home. Along with an abundance of dogs, squirrels and birds, you’ll also find monkeys! And if you happen to take a stroll on the trail that leads to the lake from the main gate, in all likelihood, as you near the staircase, you will bump into some of the simians, and a gentleman named Shivshankar. For the past year and a half, he has been feeding the monkeys at Lalbagh. A Maharashtrian by birth and a resident of Andhra…

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…

  Bengaluru this week April 16th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     When it gets really hot, rains invariably come to redeem Bengaluru’s reputation. Our weather may be something to boast about, but not our local government. This week we start a new series that analyses all that went wrong in the city’s garbage mess. There are lessons to learn as a new BBMP council is due to be elected. Even as the Election Commission readies for BBMP election as per the High Court’s orders, and citizen groups ask the state…

Though Bengaluru's weather has been a tad moody the past couple of days, it is common knowledge that come summer, as the temperatures rise, so will the water tanker prices. Earlier this year, Citizen Matters had assisted in collecting data for a joint study between a student from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and IIM Bangalore’s New Real Estate initiative on the water tanker industry in Bangalore. Here are the results from the survey. This map aims to give information about water tanker rates across the city of Bangalore, and an insight into the availability (or lack of) water in…

The pitfalls of an overly centralised governance structure, without adequate devolution of power and funds at the local level, was increasingly becoming grave. The 74th Constitutional Amendment was enacted to devolve powers to the Urban Local Bodies and to strengthen citizen participation at the local level. Local governments reflect the will of the people either by direct individual participation or through interest group action. (Reference)  However, various state governments have delayed holding elections to Urban Local Bodies and misused provisions to dissolve the councils due to political reasons. Jammu Kashmir, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh , Gujrat, are just few of the…

Demanding speedy BBMP elections, better administration and active citizen participation in the selection of urban local bodies, Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Bengaluru Residents Associations Confederation Ensemble-BRACE (a confederation of the more than 1200 resident welfare associations) today urged the State Government to uphold their constitutional right to periodically elect local representative and not delay the BBMP elections any further. Placing forth a citizens charter of demands, they reiterated that the Government’s move to deny Bengaluru an elected council is against the spirit of the 74th Amendment of the Constitution. Also read: BBMP Elections: A Backgrounder.  Charter of demands to the State Government…

Over the past 15 years the population of the city has increased more than 2.5 times, from 4 million to close to 10 million, the per capita garbage generation on an average has doubled, from 0.25kg/capita to 0.50kg/capita, and the composition and fabric of garbage has drastically changed, from about 80% compostable organic waste and a great part of the 20% being recyclable, to less than 60% compostable and a great part of the 40% being rejects, that will have to be landfilled because they are mixed waste. This article has been made possible thanks to support from Aruna Green…

Update: Click here for the details of the bandh on September 26th 2015.Normal life in Bengaluru city and other parts of the state is likely to be affected as pro-Kannada organisations have called for a 6 am to 6 pm bandh on Saturday April 18th 2015. The bandh has been called to protest against the Tamil Nadu government’s opposition to the Mekedatu project. Kannada Okkuta President Vatal Nagaraj told Citizen Matters that around 620 organisations including government employees, auto and truck drivers’ unions, trade unions, advocates associations have expressed their support to the bandh. All offices and shops will remain closed…