bbmp news

Proposed amendment to Tree Act cancelled: The proposed amendment to the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act of 1976 has been cancelled, as the state government withdrew the bill last Wednesday. It was a victory for the earnest citizens who had been on a non-stop campaign against the plan. The government had been slammed for proposing a plan that would make it legal for authorities to cut down trees. Hence, on Wednesday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister TB Jayachandra, clarified to the House that the government was going to take back the proposed amendment. He admitted that the amendment might have…

As per the directions of the High Court of Karnataka during the hearing of the case WP 24739-740/2012 on 4th September 2017, we are herewith submitting our objections to the manner of selection of ward committee members: Violation of the spirit and objects of the 74th Constitutional Amendment:  The purpose of the 74th Constitutional Amendment as per the Union Government, in its primer on JNNURM, was to empower Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) with many more powers and functions to operate as independent levels of government. But, it says, “such increase in autonomy also needs to be complemented by appropriate accountability.…

Mayor is the ‘first citizen’ of a city. But in Bengaluru, as in most municipal corporations in India, the Mayor is more often a figurehead. A ‘one-year wonder intended only for ceremonial purposes’ is how the 2008 Kasturirangan Committee Report ‘Governance in Bengaluru Metropolitan Region and BBMP’ describes the Bengaluru Mayor. This is because Mayor’s powers are restricted by the law itself. According to the KMC (Karnataka Municipal Corporation) Act, 1976, Mayor only has a one-year term, and has no executive powers. As per KMC Act, a Mayor can Preside over BBMP Council meetings, and convene additional meetings. She can…

Bruhat Bengaluru Nagara Palike (BBMP) has its branches in every ward. They are called ward offices, and they will have the assistant engineers, junior health inspectors, work inspectors, garbage supervisors and all other important stuff related to your ward. So, you need to know where your ward office is, to get anything done from BBMP. To help everyone in Bengaluru who is searching for their ward office, Opencity.in is mapping the ward offices of all 198 offices of Bengaluru, through this form. Since the form involves collecting the location data, you might be prompted to share your location. You can…

BBMP contract workers protested in front on BBMP on Womens' Day. Even as the BBMP had organised exhibitions and other programs for Women’s day, more than a thousand women contract Powrakarmikas of Bengaluru gathered at the BBMP head office to ask the BBMP, why these working women were being denied their rights. Workers from Indiranagar, RT Nagar, Koramanagala, Hegganahalli, Kengeri, Ramamurthy nagar, Gandhinagar, Banaswadi, Yelahanka and several other areas, braved threats from contractors and participated in the protest. The Contractor of Horamavu and Rammurthynagar has even threatened to fire the workers for being part of the protest. Students, several activists…

Dear Reader, The last one month, water has been on our minds. While most talk has been about Cauvery water, are we forgetting the real issue? What does it take to support the water needs of a city of 10 million? Our many stories over the years have brought you stories of scarcity, depleting groundwater levels, disappearing lakes, monsoon floods and water quality issues. It is time to really understand the city’s water stresses, how they are being addressed and what action we need to take NOW! We invite you to a special session that brings together a panel of…

N Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), believes in minimum contact but maximum governance. He is from 1994 IAS cadre. In an interview with Cherry Agarwal, a student of Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM), he talks about a wave of digitisation to put information on public domain, the long term plans of the BBMP, the challenges he faces and more. BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad. Pic courtesy: BBMP Commissioner FB page How has your journey been since 1994 to being the BBMP Commissioner? In 1994 after getting into the IAS I was allotted the West…

Citizens working with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to fix garbage management issues in the city are on fire. Reason: Subodh Yadav, Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) has been transferred. Yadav has been transferred to Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) as Secretary. The order does not mention a replacement for the position vacated by Subodh Yadav. Here is the full transfer order. 'Bring back Subodh Yadav' There is an online petition floated asking the Government of Karnataka to bring Subodh Yadav back as Special Commissioner, to continue what he was doing.  It is not clear why Subodh Yadav was chosen…

On November 30th 2015, Monday, soon after Bengaluru Mayor N Manjunath Reddy called off the monthly council meeting citing model code of conduct for Legislative Council election as the reason, opposition party leader Padmanabha Reddy hurriedly convened a press meet. In his press meet, he accused the BBMP Commissioner and Chief Audit Officer of releasing Rs 179 crore for Programme of Works, violating the High Court and Karnataka government’s order to strictly follow seniority while clearing bills. The BBMP has released Rs 179 crore for works in different wards in K R Puram, RR Nagar and Yeshwanthpur legislative constituencies for…