The JD(S) manifesto starts off with a note that says that JD(S)’ contributions to the city of Bengaluru have not been small and for the next 5 pages goes on to enlist the contributions that H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy have made. Only then does it move on to its plans for the city. 

The key points in the manifesto are as follows:

Tackling of Corruption in Governance: Lokayukta, land transactions to be made transparent, change in licensing system, citizen involvement in supervising governance

Creation of Metropolitan Planning Committee: To manage Bangalore and regulate the growth of the city.

New system for “Clean Bangalore”

• Set-up Bangalore waste management authority which will be in charge of waste disposal in Bangalore.

• Take up measures for garbage reduction, collection and processing

Bangalore Traffic and Transport Management

• Implement Traffic Management Plan:  Set up Bangalore Arterial Road Development Authority,  improved traffic management on IT corridor, improved pedestrian safety, implement B-TRAC

• “Zero tolerance norm for traffic offenses” will be introduced.

• Technology backed enforcement will be enforced.

• Set up Traffic Management and Advisory Committee in all the 39 Traffic Police Stations’ jurisdiction

Bangalore Public Transport

• Namma Metro – Hasten the pace of the project and include areas such as Koramangala, Marathahalli etc within the Metro’s coverage

• Bus Services – Integrate Metro and BMTC services, introduce directional bus services, improve the functionality of bus services

• Introduce commuter and integrate it with Metri

• Road history to be tracked for maintenance of roads

Bangalore Housing

• Ensure property title in Bangalore: All property will be resurveyed using GPS, Property IDs to be issued, set-up Bangalore Property Repository

• Ensure safety in housing related transactions

• Regularise of unauthorised constructions through Sakrama

• Housing: Distribute 35000 sites every year, 3.5 lakh houses will be constructed for allotting them to Garment workers, Industrial laborers, Teachers of Private schools, Auto and Taxi drivers, hotel workers,  BDA, BIAPPA, BMRDA will be integrated into Metropolitan planning body

Drinking Water and Sanitation

• Press for rightful share of Cauvery water

• Harness east-flowing rivers

• Provide Cauvery water to all wards of Bangalore

• Safe water dispensing points

• Adopt water harvesting and harnessing of solar power

• Recycle used water

• Water harvesting in Arkavathi basin

• Clean and maintain raja kaluves

• Construction of public toilets and urinals

• Maintain burial yards

• Manual street cleaning

Bangalore City Environment

• Introduce measures to prevent water pollution

• Curb pollution arising out of building construction

• Introduce measures to prevent air pollution

• Development of lakes

• Punitive measures in garbage disposal

• Promote tree cultivation in private sites

• Introduce UG cables to ensure proper growth of trees

• Develop at least one park in every ward

• Trees to be pruned annually

• Reduce advertising hoardings

Law & Order in Bangalore

• Zero tolerance on crime

• Bangalore conviction rate to be 30% – increase number of public prosecutors

• Safety of women: Recruit Lady Constables and Sub Inspectors, introduce women taxi drivers, door-to-door BMTC services for women and elderly between 9 pm and 7 am, introduce a facility for women to file complaints, establish a hostel for women in distress and construction of working womens hostels

• Safety of Elderly persons: Registration of security service providers for the elderly, GPS based hand-held devices to track the elderly, teletracking of events in the houses of the elderly, medical assistance in case of emergencies

Basic Services For the Urban Poor: Create a “Department of Urban Poor” at the BBMP to identify urban poor and profile them, identify beneficiaries of schemes, run low-cost kitchens, provide overnight accommodation, ensure cleanliness of public toilets, provide certification services, provide financial access to health care.

Department for Special Component plan: Create a Department for Special Component plan to take charge of activities for the welfare of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Department of Public Health services: Set-up Department of Public Health services to increase efficiency of health services, access talent from the private health care system , enable free distribution of drugs

Other issues relating to Bangalore

• Financial Support to BBMP: Implement recommendations made by M/s Furguson & Co. to strengthen administration in BBMP

• Public Consultation on any traffic related project costing more than 5 crores  

• Management of hawking: Specific areas in each ward will be provided for hawking.

• Development of parking space in the city in collaboration with  METRO, Arterial Roads Development Authority and BBMP

• Prevention of dog menace

• Primary Education: Ward level English medium schools, mid-day meals, introduce a territorial jurisdiction based school admission system

The complete JDS manifesto can be read here: http://jds.ind.in/bangalore-city/

In addition to the plans promised by the JDS manifesto, the individual candidates from each of the constituencies have mentioned that they will be take up issues that are close to their hearts. Excerpts from JD(S) candidates’ vision for Bangalore:

Key focus areas across all candidates’ mission statements

• Water

• Improved infrastructure

• Urban planning/development

• Waste management

• Decentralised governance

Nandini Alva – Bangalore Central

Top priorities

• Women’s Empowerment – Set up cooperatives to provide social and financial empowerment to women.

• Water Shortage – Work on a 50 year plan for the city for water –  push for adoption of global practices for water recycling. Claims to have already invested time in  researching how world cities Singapore and  London recycle water.

Will also focus on:

• Launch a Citizens Connect platform to hear citizen concerns and issues.

• Leverage the MPLAD funds as Seed funding and seek additional capital through PPP (Public Private Partnership).

• Seek funds from  key  Central  government  schemes  like  the  Jawaharlal  Nehru  National Urban Renewable  Mission (JNNURM)  under  which  pressing  issues  like  power,  housing, roads,  water  supply,  mass transportation,  sanitation  and  solid  waste  management  are addressed and from Rajiv Awas Yojana scheme meant for urban housing and rehabilitation of slum dwellers.

• Co-operative movement: Is a huge supporter of the co-operative movement including co-operative societies and banks, and wants to introduce it locally to help small industries like weavers, agarbatti rollers etc. and find ways to incentivise them and recognise their contribution.

• Financial help for artists: Start a co-operative bank exclusively for artists as it is hard or next to impossible for them to get loans.

• Focus on children: Focus on children who are victims of abuse and emotional distress irrespective of their economic/social backgrounds.

• Garbage issue: Developing a revenue model to manage garbage and make commercial commercial property owners, who are the biggest generators of waste, accountable for the waste generated by them.

• Education: Revamping of the education system and introducing vocational training for youth and adults.

Ruth Manorama – Bangalore South

Top priorities

• Make Bengaluru South a model constituency

• Inclusive development for all: universalising access to essential services such as public health, equitable education and other basic services such as water and sanitation.

• Women’s Empowerment

• Establish a special fund for the political empowerment of women that will provide women with adequate opportunities to participate in active politics by funding their work, campaign etc.

• Strongly work towards the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.

• Give prime importance to enhancing girls and women’s education and provide conducive infrastructural facilities that are women-friendly (toilets, water, safe roads) in order to reduce the drop-out rates among girls and women in schools and colleges.

• Build capacities of women by providing training, large scale socio-economic and political awareness programmes in order to encourage leadership among women.

• Provide reservation for women in employment in the formal sector and social security for those in the unorganized sector.

• Stringent implementation of laws for a safe and secure Bengaluru for women.

• Violence free homes and a violence free city.

Will also focus on:

• Large scale employment generation programmes both in the formal and informal sector.

• Effective implementation of the SC/ST Sub-Plan and the Prime Minister’s 15 point programme for Muslims.

• Social Security for unorganised labour.

• Water

• Rejuvenation of water sources and raise ground-water table.

• Ensure rainwater harvesting is implemented on a household and on a community level in every ward stringently.

• Improve Infrastructural facilities in the city – shift from urban development to effective urban management, push for an effective drainage and sewage system

• Transport

• Speedy completion of the metro rail to deconges

• Well-planned integration of different modes of transport from metro rail to bicycles.

• Accessible infrastructure

• Promote Democratic Governance – decentralised and participatory planning is key.

Abdul Azeem – Bangalore North

Top priorities

• Honest, transparent and effective governance

• Better Roads

• Safer Neighbourhoods

• Provision for basic civic amenities

Will also focus on:

• Better urban planning: Encourage growth in Bangalore’s suburbs, especially between

• Chikkaballapur and Doddaballapur.

• Water for all: Establishment of desalination plant to address the city’s water woes.

• Better waste management: Establishment of waste treatment plants and stricter controls on industrial and commercial units expelling waste in natural water bodies.

• Better governance: End wasteful government expenditure and instead focus on areas that truly need funds and attention.

• Focus on Education: Bridge the gaps in education, Higher spending on education, Training for teachers, teaching aids in schools, maintain healthy student-teacher ratio, regular audit

• Hike expenditure on Healthcare – Set-up more hospitals, Establish health schemes for the poor

• Leverage technology to check corruption

• Adopt a Sustainability Master Plan: Build a master plan that takes into account the needs of the city 50 years into the future, manage natural resources holistically, look beyond rivers and lakes for freshwater and instead set up a desalination plant, enforce stricter controls on industrial and commercial bodies expelling untreated waste in the environment.