74th amendment

During the recently concluded monsoon session of the Karnataka state assembly two audit reports by the CAG of India were tabled.  Report No 1 of 2020 - tabled on 22nd September - pertains to State Finances of Karnataka Government for the year 2018-19. Report No 2 of 2020 - tabled on 23rd September - presents the Performance Audit on Implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. Read the Performance Audit Report in English hereRead the Performance Audit Report in Kannada here On September 23rd, CAG of India’s Audit Report on Union Government (Finance Accounts) for the year 2018-19 got tabled…

Co-authored by Milind Mhaske and Meghna Bandelwar India has witnessed, dealt with and survived an outbreak of several epidemics such as swine flu, small pox, plague, dengue, hepatitis amongst many others, the most recent being the Nipah virus outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, seems to have created an unprecedented global emergency and the entire world is grappling with the challenge of curbing its spread and providing medical care to the huge numbers of people infected. India has taken measures at the Central and state level to prevent and curtail the spread of the pandemic. The city governments too are trying…

The National Coalition for Inclusive and Sustainable Urbanization, comprised of a group of people across different parts of the country, is involved in exploring questions pertaining to the city and whom the urban is meant for. The Coalition has recently put out a charter, endorsed by 150+ organizations and 2 lakh signatories across 40 cities, that lays out a number of steps that can be taken to make development in cities more inclusive and sustainable, keeping the real ‘Citymakers’ - urban poor and worker groups - and their rights at the centre of discourse and action. Right to Housing and…

How should one go about voting in an election? This seems quite a bewildering challenge for some voters unless they have already made up their mind on whom or which party to vote. The manifestos of both the major parties are out. In case the promises they are making and their track record of delivering on previous manifestos hasn’t helped you decide, read on. For those still undecided, this article may give you some guidance on making an informed choice. Let us first begin by understanding the role of a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP),the nature of our democracy…

Congress President, Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Monday that he would make mayoral elections direct, since good leaders are needed to build smart cities. The Congress party has been sharing its key features on social media. The tweet seems like another promise in the direction of smooth urban governance. Real smart cities are built by good leaders. To improve quality of life in our cities we will move to directly elected Mayors with 5 yr terms & elected councils. Administration will be run by multidisciplinary teams of specialists & experts accountable to the Mayor & council. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April…

Despite court orders and civilian protests, the Ward Committees (WCs) were not allowed to function in Karnataka for a long time. Finally, in a weak beginning, a few wards held WC meetings on 1st December, 2018. There are many systemic issues that would not let the WCs function effectively, or bring good governance in the city administration. The following issues need to be addressed as soon as possible: 1)  The WC members do not truly represent the public in the ward: According to 74th amendment, the ward committee members are supposed to be chosen by the Area Sabhas.Thus each WC…

Roughly a couple of days from now, Karnataka will be voting to elect its next Assembly. One of the most conspicuous features of the high profile state election this year has been the participation of several new players other than the traditional big names, one among them being the Swaraj India party led by psephologist-turned-politician Yogendra Yadav. But how does a party, founded on the premise of alternative politics and with its origins largely in the political narrative of the northern part of the country, plan to make a mark in a southern state, where the dominant dialogue has been…

25 years after the 74th Constitutional Amendment (Nagarapalika Act) prescribed effective citizen participation through ward committees, to bring in accountability of the local councillor to the community, an opportunity is at last being given to citizens to get into ward committees.  Till now, if at all the ward committees were constituted; councillors were themselves nominating the individual members and registered associations who would sit on ward committees.  It was not surprising that the ward committees used to be filled with the councillors’ own party-men and cronies, defeating the purpose of the ward committees. The two seats for registered associations used…

Hon’ble Chief Minister Govt. of Karnataka Vidhana Soudha Bangalore 560001 Dear Sir, Current situation of Bengaluru Bengaluru city has reached a population of 1 crore already.  It is finding it difficult to provide drinking water to half its residents.  The city has 60 lakh vehicles (a vehicle for every two persons), congesting roads and making it impossible for buses to ply and for pedestrians, street vendors and cyclists to have an equitable amount of road-space. Garbage mismanagement in the city has necessitated the intervention of the Karnataka High Court to ensure that MoEF Rules are followed and mafias controlled.  Lakes…

Urban Development Department published ward committee rules in June 2016. The rules will help formation of ward committees and can have citizen participation in ward level. Kathyayini Chamaraj, the co-founder of CIVIC, says that people can now start demanding that BBMP constitute the ward committees for each ward with a total of ten members with 3 women, 2 SC/ST members, 2 local associations and any three other members.Other terms: The committee must meet every month and put up the minutes and resolutions in the ward office. The Ward Committee meetings are open to the public and RWA members should make…