The Karnataka government has notified the draft Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) rules — over three years after the BMLTA Act came into being — and has invited suggestions/objections by February 2nd, 2026.   The BMLTA was meant to be a unified transport body to regulate, monitor, develop and plan urban mobility in Bengaluru. The government had failed to constitute the Authority within the statutory timeline of six months. Now, the much-delayed draft rules propose to strip away all forms of transparency and accountability! One controversial clause (Rule 24) proposes to grant deemed approval to projects initiated between 2022…

Over a fire of burning newspaper and cardboard, Madhuban Pawar, in her mid-60s, sits on the cold stone floor brewing tea. It is 11 pm, and her husband waits beside her for their only meal of the day: a single glucose biscuit and a glass of tea. In the wake of the December 2, 2025, demolition drive in Mumbai's Borivali, a lone cooking utensil is all the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) left her with. Madhuban, like many from Borivali's Chikuwadi, has inhabited the slums for over 20 years. "I work as a sanitation worker. During monsoons, our job is to…