The GBG Bill: A 'great' idea or just 'greater' trouble? The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024 proposes significantly restructuring Bengaluru’s governance by splitting the city into seven corporations and creating a single, unified authority to oversee the city's development. The goal is to streamline decision-making and address Bengaluru’s growing challenges, like traffic and infrastructure issues. But will this really lead to decentralisation? Citizen groups and urban planners argue that the plan gives too much power to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and weakens local representation, considering elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike are long pending. When: Tabled in the…

Chennai's parking policy overhauled Are you one of those desperately seeking parking spots in Chennai? Then look out for these five insights from the policy introduced by the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA). Why: The ultimate, though distant, aim of the policy is to streamline parking and reduce driving. With 9.2 million vehicles crowding Chennai’s streets, the government hopes to encourage people to use public transport, ride-sharing, cycling, or walking. This shift is aimed at decongesting roads and enhancing safety and mobility, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) experts, who offered technical knowledge support for…