City: Bengaluru

The Department of Urban Development of the Government of Karnataka has published the draft rules for the Constitution of the Metropolitan Planning Committee for the Bangalore Metropolitan Region and invited comments from the general public on these rules. These are my comments, following a detailed consideration of the provisions of these rules. Overview of the proposed MPC structure Draft rule 3 speaks of the constitution of the Committee. The State government nominees are: The Chief Minister Minister for urban development Chairperson, BDA Principal secretary to government Urban Development One representative of the Government of India (National Capital Region and Planning…

A clean up drive turned out to be a wake up drive, for shop keepers as well as BBMP, on Saturday, November 23, 2013 . As many as 26 shops at Johnson's market received notices for not having trade licenses  or for not displaying it. Health inspector Amarappa, Medical Officer of Health Sanghamitra and Additional Commissioner Yatish Kumar responsible for Solid Waste Management and Health carried out the inspection of trade licenses and waste disposal at Johnson's market on Hosur Road. There are many vendors in Johnson's Market who violate the rules. Pic: Nikita Malusare As you enter Johnson market…

Having spent the last couple of months speaking to the residents of Sadashivanagar, convincing them to begin segregating their garbage, I once again joined the pourakarmikas on their Saturday dry-waste collection drive to note what impact my efforts had on apathetic residents, and to adjudge how much more I would have to do to help realise the dream of 100% collection.  The pourakarmikas – who by now had grown accustomed to my company – greeted me with smiles and waves. They informed me that the drive would start a few minutes late due to the early-morning rain which had dampened…

This draft notification is dated November 07, 2013, and published in the Gazette dated November 14, 2013. Technically the notification can have objections till November 29, 2013. URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARIAT NOTIFICATIONNo. UDD 356 MNJ 2005(P), Bangalore, dated: 07.11.2013 The draft of the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee Rules, 2013 which the Government of Karnataka proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by section 503B read with section 421 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 (Karnataka Act 14 of 1977), is hereby published as required by sub-section (1) of section 421 of the said Act, for the information of…

While aiming for the sun high up in the sky, we tend to stamp on the flowers at our feet. - Anonymous We continue to mix waste, violate laws and lead 'respectable' lives. But these people, who help reduce the trash in our mega-city Bengaluru, are looked down upon for being migrant and poor. Be it ragpickers, sweepers or garbage collectors, they are part of the system too. But their stories are never told. Mohammad Khan (name changed on request) has a long and grey beard that seems to represent his 60 years of experience. Dressed usually in ragged trousers…

Following is the text of objections and recommendations by CIVIC. Rules should be general: They should be applicable to any metropolitan city in Karnataka - not just Bangalore, as many other cities in Karnataka have reached or are fast-approaching the population mark of 10 lakhs and will require MPCs to be set up. Recommendation: The Rules need to be general, to apply to all cities which cross the 10 lakh population limit. Public discussion needs to happen: There has been no prior public intimation of the intention of the government to draft the said Rules as per Section 4(1)(c) and…

Public Affairs Centre (PAC), an independent non-government think tank working in the area of governance and service delivery, has recently completed an assessment of the services provided by BESCOM. The study funded by BESCOM, used the Citizen Report Card (CRC) approach to collect feedback from users as well as the BESCOM staff to understand the quality of service delivery and issues faced by both parties. The aim was to use the information generated through the study to find actionable remedies for issues of concern faced by both users and the BESCOM staff. The study covered all the eight Circles and…

Urban Development Department has published the draft rules for the Constitution of the Metropolitan Planning Committee for the Bangalore Metropolitan Region inviting objections or suggestions. Please find below my submissions after a detailed study: The draft Rules have not been given adequate publicity in the Press and Media. Even till date the notification does not appear in your department’s website. I therefore request you to give wide publicity in the media including publishing on your department’s website and extend the date for receiving suggestions by 30 days. Sec 4(1) c of RTI Act requires you to publish all relevant facts…

The Government of Karnataka has issued the notification outlining the formation of Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC). The long-awaited step has been taken very secretively, with no publicity to this anywhere. Not even the Urban Development Department website has displayed it; nowhere has it been kept for public discussion. The draft notification has been gazetted and published on November 7, 2013, with 15 days for public feedback on the issue - that is on or before November 22, 2013. Problems MPC is supposed to solve Right now Bangalore has too many planning authorities that sanction approvals and plan the land use.…

The report was prepared in 2008 and proposed a different planning structure for Bengaluru region. This report was also taken into consideration by ABIDe, to prepare the Bangalore Regional Governance Bill draft. Also read: MPC draft notification published by Government of Karnataka gazette. This has come into picture now again, in the backdrop of the Karnataka government's move to constitute Metropolitan Planning Committee. You can read the report on the website itself, or download the report by clicking the below link. Dr Kasturirangan Committee Report on BBMP Related ArticlesPlanning power to other civic bodies will be an obstacle to MPCBengaluru…