For good governance, everyone should do their own job

The Chief Minister wants to do the Mayor’s job, and keeps most of the power and finances needed for the city with the State government, rather than devolving them. The Mayor is attending to complaints from the public and trying to resolve them, which is good, but surely that seems like the Commissioner’s job. Without a framework for running the city, there is total chaos, and no realistic expectation of improvement.

What is needed?

(a) The CM should constitute the Metropolitan Planning Committee for the Bangalore Region, let SOMEONE ELSE lead the planning, so that there is sufficient mind-space to the job properly without the pull of other responsibilities. He should also convert BDA into a single agency for all infra development (roads, pipes, drains, bridges, everything) so that there is no passing of the buck between agencies responsible for different aspects of public infra.

(b) The Mayor should set GOALS to be achieved through administration during his tenure, and ask the Commissioner and his team to achieve them. He should also keep pushing the state government to devolve more and more powers and finances to the city leadership.

(c) The Commissioner should educate his team about the goals he has agreed with the Mayor, and ask them to give weekly reports on progress towards the goals. He should also instruct them to engage with the public in resolving day-to-day issues.

(d) The corporators in their respective wards should ensure that the goals for their wards are being achieved, by having ward staff report to them in the same way that the senior officials report to the Mayor. The Council should also support the Mayor’s effort to make city administration strong, and as far as possible independent of interference from the State administration.

(e) The citizens should vote for representatives who understand this separation of roles

Related Articles

Mayorji, Bengaluru’s IT industry can do these for free – want to take them up?
Recipe for success: Seven things that you must do every week
Bangalore’s roads: Poorly planned, neglected, battered

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Maharashtra elections 2024: What do political parties promise for Mumbai in their manifestos?

Political parties have tried hard to woo their voters before assembly elections. We analyse their manifestos ahead of voting on November 20.

The 2024 Maharashtra election is not just a crucial determiner for the State but also for Mumbai. This is because it comes at a time when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been disbanded, leaving citizens without corporators to represent their concerns for the past two years. With no local representation, it isn't surprising that many candidates have released their individual manifestos, outlining the work they plan to undertake in their constituencies within the city. But do these manifestos address the challenges Mumbai is facing right now? The city has been struggling with a myriad of issues — huge gaps…

Similar Story

Mumbai voters, check out the candidates from your constituency

As Mumbai prepares to vote on November 20th, a handy list of all the city constituencies and candidate profiles in each of these

Table of contentsName of constituency: Borivali (AC 152)Incumbent MLA : Sunil Dattatraya Rane (BJP)2019 resultsConstituency summaryContesting candidates in 2024Name of constituency: Dahisar (AC 153)Incumbent MLA: Chaudhary Manisha Ashok (BJP)2019 resultsConstituency SummaryContesting candidates in 2024Name of constituency: Magathane (154)Constituency analysisIncumbent MLA: Prakash Rajaram Surve (SHS)2019 results:Contesting candidates in 2024Name of constituency: Mulund (155) Constituency analysis Incumbent MLA: Mihir Kotecha (BJP)2019 results: Contesting candidates in 2024Name of constituency: Vikhroli (156)Constituency analysis Incumbent MLA: Sunil Raut (SHS)2019 results:Contesting candidates in 2024Name of constituency: Bhandup West (157)Constituency Analysis Incumbent MLA: Ramesh Gajanan Korgaonkar (SHS)2019 results:Contesting candidates in 2024Name of constituency: Jogeshwari East (158) Constituency analysisIncumbent MLA:  Ravindra Dattaram Waikar (SHS)2019…