City: Bengaluru

When the Congress party came to power in May 2023, Priya* was excited. The domestic worker from North Bengaluru says she understands little about politics, but she knew about the five guarantees. Nearly four months after its victory, the state government is celebrating the fulfilment of at least four of the five guarantees. Priya, however, has mixed feelings about the schemes. She agrees that at least two guarantees-free electricity and bus travel-have been fulfilled and she is now registered for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. But the Anna Bhagya or free rice scheme has left her confused. “I thought we would…

Rs 3,400-cr plan for lakes In his 77th Independence Day speech at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised a Rs 3,400-crore action plan to preserve and revive lakes and invest Rs 1.4 lakh crore every year to achieve a 15 % to 16 % growth rate. He said that the plan to revive lakes and waterbodies is being drawn up to ensure that pure drinking water is supplied to urban areas. However, ecologists were sceptical. Ram Prasad from Friends of Lakes said that it is only an announcement, just like those of earlier governments. He suggested…

Deputy chief minister, DK Shivakumar, has shown serious intent to tackle the city’s various issues. The Brand Bengaluru campaign and appointing committees to study and make recommendations are in the right direction. However, the unilateral announcement of the Tunnel Road Project, which bypasses institutional city planning mechanisms, needs to be examined and criticised. The project aims to ease traffic congestion at an estimated cost of Rs 50,000 crore, but how scientific and data-driven is the decision-making process behind it? The importance of due process If the Tunnel Road Project does not take into consideration the points mentioned below, then its…

Bengaluru generates around 4,500 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per day. To regulate this, the Solid Waste Management(SWM) rules, 2016 and the SWM bye-laws were passed, which notifies the best practices of waste management in a sustainable manner. The SWM rules, 2016, are an outcome of several Public Interest litigations (WP 24739/2012 & WP 46523/2012) filed before the Karnataka High Court in 2012, where a range  of directions were issued that ordered the BBMP to stop landfilling, incineration waste as well as ensure source segregation. However, the implementation of these orders is tardy to date. An unscientific landfill continues…

In parts one and two of this series, we looked at the condition of the 30 dhobi ghats in the city and why there isn't a single functioning water recycling plant to solve the issue of water scarcity. In this third and final part, we will look at how the rise of laundry brands are becoming a severe threat to traditional dhobi ghats and the dhobis' livelihood. With the majority of dhobi ghats relying heavily on manual washing and minimum use of technology, the emergence of laundry brands, which use and advertise technological tools to entice more customers, is posing…

In July 2023, 995 cases of cruelty in domestic violence, under section 498 A, were reported in Karnataka. In Bengaluru, a Deccan Herald report stated that the Parihar-Vanitha Sahayavani counselling centre in Bengaluru received 434 complaints of domestic violence, between April and December, 2022. As more cases of domestic violence are reported, it is important to know the legal definition and consequences of cruelty in domestic violence.  This explainer clarifies how survivors can seek legal help and protection.  What is cruelty in the context of domestic violence? Cruelty includes the actions of torture against a married woman by her husband…

BBMP governance issues The government has set a two-month deadline for ward delimitation. Even the previous government reduced the number of wards from 243 to 225. However, senior Ministers are now debating whether civic polls should be organised at the end of this year. As there is no clarity over restructuring the city’s governance structure, the worry is that the civic polls may push reforms to the background. Meanwhile, on the Working Contractors' Association complaint that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has held up its bills, the Governor, Thaawarchand Gehlot, summoned BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath. The contractors said…

The auditorium was packed with women dressed in their best, clutching umbrellas. The week-long rainy weather and the challenge of getting to the venue, St Joseph’s College of Commerce, during the evening rush hour did not deter members of the Domestic Workers’ Rights Union from gathering there on July 26th to hold a public hearing to air grievances and demand their rights. One by one, domestic workers walked onto the stage to give testimony and speak about their challenges while officer bearers of the union provided the context. The women raised several issues, including wage theft, false criminalisation and police…

As Bengaluru expands, civic agencies like BBMP and other parastatal bodies like BWSSB struggle to meet citizens' demands for better infrastructure. We spoke to urban governance researcher Neha Sami, from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, about Bengaluru's governance model in a two-part interview. In part one, Neha stressed the need for stronger local government and better public consultation for an equitable city. In part two, she outlines how the increasing private sector influence in governance, planning and finance can further weaken local governments. She also spoke about why private sector involvement might become important in some cases and how…

The recently elected state government, along with BBMP and BDA officials, has been busy trying to 'fix' Bengaluru's issues. The measures include reinstating BBMP's re-structuring committee and initiating the Brand Bengaluru committee. Activists have criticised such committees as elitist and have called for more democratic urban planning. But how can we devise an inclusive, equitable plan for Bengaluru? Neha Sami, Associate Dean, School of Environment and Sustainability, at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), attempts to answer this question. Neha is a researcher with a background in urban planning and environmental governance. Her research broadly focuses on governance in…