City: Bengaluru

In his budget speech on February 17th, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that quality of life in Bengaluru would improve “by ensuring seamless mobility, developing roads, prevention of floods by developing storm water drains and designing scientific and efficient waste management systems.” While such physical infrastructure is undoubtedly important for the well-being of a city, social infrastructure such as housing and health are equally crucial for improving the standard of living. In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the gaps in budget allocations to BMTC and education. In Part 2, we will look at how the budget focuses…

While roads and related infrastructure were given importance in this year’s state budget, housing, education and health were neglected. With the BBMP budget slated to be announced soon, Citizen Matters Bengaluru, organised a webinar, 'The mysterious process of Bengaluru’s budget allocations', on February 23rd, to raise questions about why some sectors are given preference over others, the source of funds, the format of the expenditure, and more. Citizen Matters hosted a webinar on the dissemination and allocation of state and municipal finance. Pic: Citizen Matters The discussion was anchored by Bhanu Sridharan, and the panellists were Kathyayini Chamaraj, executive trustee…

Reservation issues The Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Bill, 2022 was adopted by the Legislative Assembly, with the support of all political members. It seeks to provide reservation to Kannadigas in higher education and private industries to give primacy to Kannada. It also aims for a state-level enforcement committee, led by the Kannada and Culture Minister, V. Sunil Kumar. Meanwhile, the High Court of Karnataka ordered issue of notice to the state involving a petition questioning the validity of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under…

The Karnataka government budget for 2023-24 was predicted to be a pre-election gift to Bengaluru. However, it is a gift that not everyone approves of. The majority of the funding is being given to roads and related infrastructure. Meanwhile, education, health, housing sectors, and other bodies like the BWSSB and the BMTC are set to see another year of neglect. In his budget speech on February 17th, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced a whopping Rs 9,698 crore grant for the comprehensive development of Bengaluru. A majority of these funds are going into construction and repair of city infrastructure, primarily roads.…

The sight of piles of waste strewn on roads, footpaths, underneath flyovers, lake beds, and other vacant areas has become so common for Bengalureans that most of us don’t even notice what it consists of. It is waste, but all waste is not the same. These piles comprise different types of waste. There is biodegradable waste, like food waste and paper, and non-biodegradable items, like plastics, metal, glass etc. However, a big volume consists of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, including concrete, stone debris, commodes, tiles etc. Have you wondered why this waste is dumped across the city and if…

The Karnataka Budget for 2023-24, presented by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, primarily focuses on the comprehensive development of Bengaluru, combatting traffic congestion, tackling floods, managing waste disposal, developing the sub-urban railway project, and providing affordable healthcare services. Bommai had earlier said that his government's top priorities are education, employment and empowerment and that he was committed to easing traffic in the city. These aspects were highlighted in the budget. Economic revival In his budget speech, the Chief Minister stressed that the state's economy has "recovered beyond pre-COVID level" as per the 2021-2022 numbers by the National Statistical Office. Quoting the…

City officials have been thinking of widening Sankey road for 40 years. However, their plans for easing traffic congestion around this busy junction has been largely criticised. Those opposing the move to widen Sankey road are concerned about the loss of 100-year-old trees, footpaths, the safety of the tank bund, as well as increased traffic and pollution. The plan appears to go dormant every decade, but refuses to die. Plans to widen Sankey Road have been in the making since 1984. Pic: Sacha Fernandez (CC BY-NC-ND-2.0) Four decades in the making In 1984, the city’s first Master Plan included a…

Another legislation. Another new Authority called the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA). Ostensibly designed for the regulation of development, operation, maintenance, monitoring, and supervision of urban mobility, within what the bill calls the Urban Mobility Region, by unifying all the different public transport entities into one overarching body. The BMLTA is just two months old, but has been given its first assignment. The detailed project report of the contentious Sankey Road flyover project, which is strongly opposed by citizens and mobility experts, was handed over to the young BMLTA for evaluation of the feasibility of the project. Its first…

Last budget before polls Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's second budget was presented on February 17th. It included a CM Vidya Shakti Scheme for students and a Gruhani Shakthi scheme for women. Meanwhile, the opposition leaders came to the Assembly with a 'flower-on-the-ear' or 'Kivi Mele Hoove' protest, alleging that the government had fooled the people with false promises. Source: Indian Express Aero India events The 14th edition of the Aero India show 2023, held at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka, saw a large turnout . About 266 partnerships, including 201 MoUs, 53 major announcements, and nine product launches were firmed…

It was recently reported  that Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had received over Rs 28,000 crore in the past six years. The state government sanctioned over Rs 8,000 crore in 2022-2023 alone. Over 60% of this money has been spent on road works, including flyovers and underpasses. Of the Rs 8, 000 crore sanctioned last year, Rs 6,000 crore is being spent on road works. BBMP has issued work orders for this Rs 6,000 crore in one go, even though the money is meant to be spent over three years. In the Karnataka budget 2023-24, presented on February 17th, Chief Minister…