City: Bengaluru

The handover process with all its financial, operational and technical aspects can be hard to nail down. Yet, it is the most pressing challenge as an association prepares to run the affairs of a community. Issues like late handover and defects within the apartment are common complaints of most individual apartment owners taking possession of their new property. At an association level, however, issues are even more complex and often ignored. The issues range from major defects, incomplete construction, lack of documentation, improper handover of maintenance corpus etc. In a new apartment, a freshly constituted Association’s Managing Committees (MC) may…

Ever since BBMP closed down its RTI (Right to Information) Cell five years back, it's been tougher for citizens to get information about BBMP's decisions and actions. For 11 years (2006 to 2017), the BBMP head office had a fairly active central RTI Cell that accepted all RTI requests. The applicant only had to address the request to the 'PIO (Public Information Officer), BBMP', and the PIO in charge of the RTI Cell would forward the request to the concerned officer. Since the closure of the Cell in 2017, citizens have to identify the specific PIO in charge of the…

If one were to compare the national economy to the human body, highways can be considered the arteries. Like clogged arteries which can be life-threatening, poor roads can derail economic growth. Planning and execution of highway projects have several other implications related to safeguarding the interest of the consumer, environmental impact, prudent contract management etc. One way to be aware of issues of impropriety and poor performance in local government bodies and departments is to track the audit reports from agencies like the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). This article is the sixth in the Series: Understanding Public…

In a previous article, we saw how Electronics City’s Township Authority (ELCITA) manages to keep its roads free of potholes by ensuring good drainage and prompt filling of potholes. Functioning stormwater drains that prevent waterlogging and seepage into road surfaces were identified as an important factor in ensuring pothole-free roads. BBMP too has its own set of guidelines on how to ensure effective drainage of rainwater from roads. In reality, however, whether those guidelines are being followed can be a hit or miss across the city. Residents also play their part by encroaching on roads and drains and dumping garbage…

Onti Mane housing scheme to be restarted by BBMP Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai announced on June 15th that BBMP would restart the Onti Mane scheme, which aims to provide financial assistance to the poor to build a house, if they owned a site. This will be in conjunction with other urban development schemes such as Akrama Sakrama, which regularises revenue collection in pockets of the city where a large number of underprivileged people in Bengaluru live.  The Onti Mane scheme offers upto Rs 5 lakh to people belonging to the SC/ST/OBC and minority categories to build houses in their plots.…

I have been a regular commuter on Namma Metro since 2017 when Namma Metro’s phase one was inaugurated with connectivity to southwest Bengaluru. Two lines, the Purple Line** and Green Line were opened with an interchange at Majestic. I used to take the Purple Line from Mysore Road initially. Now I travel from Raja Rajeshwari Nagar to Cubbon Park/ MG Road almost daily. At the time the two metro lines became operational, the hope was that this would help reduce air pollution and congestion along with the catchment areas of these routes. Hopes that have been totally belied because of…

My mother passed away on May 31st. It was all very sudden. She had been in the hospital for a week and passed away peacefully on the day she was supposed to get discharged. Though the last week of her life was spent in the hospital, it was spent with her loved ones and she truly appreciated the care and support she received from the hospital staff. Our mother’s passing is an irreplaceable loss for all of us in her immediate family and extended circle of family and friends whose lives she touched with her warmth and infectious laughter. But…

Lokayukta appointment soon Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai confirmed that the process of appointing the new Lokayukta is in the final stages. Bommai's confirmation comes a day after the High Court, during a hearing, indicated that the appointment process had begun. The panel formed to choose the Lokayukta comprises Bommai, High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Chairman of the Legislative Council, and opposition leaders in both Houses. The position of Lokayukta has been vacant since January. Source: The Indian Express Idgah Maidan row The row over the ownership of the Chamarajpet Idgah Maidan has heated…

Bengaluru now has over 2,450 decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), including those installed in apartments and large commercial buildings. These STPs cumulatively treat approximately 615 Million Litres of wastewater per day, which is 8% of the total sewage generated in the city. Most of these decentralised STPs are poorly maintained, resulting in poor quality of treated wastewater. There is limited reuse and the excess water is often illegally discharged into open drains, resulting in polluted lakes and water bodies. Reusing treated wastewater for gardening, toilet flushing and washing common areas in apartment complexes can reduce both water scarcity and water…

The contest for control of the Bengaluru municipal council promises at least some surprises. Like first-time contestants Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bengaluru Navanirmana Party (BNP) - formed in 2019 as a party exclusively for Bengaluru city - both hoping to make to make a mark, if not cause any major upsets. AAP is harbouring ambitions of a larger state presence if the BBMP election campaign proves encouraging. The three other contestants, the BJP, Congress and JD(S) are banking on the past record of work they have done for the city. The latter two have only their State leaders to…