BBMP

A cardinal principle in administration and policy making is that one should never introduce a rule or law that cannot be enforced. The dangers are manifold -- those who flout the rule get away with impunity, and the rest of the citizenry gets the message that laws mean nothing, they need not be obeyed. Take the BBMP's latest decisions for ‘cleaning up' the mess that the city has become.Residents whose dogs mess up the pavements and public places, are now warned that they will be fined and penalised. Walk with me a short distance -- less than 300 metres --…

Election Commission of India's (ECI) letter dated 12 April 2012 to Karnataka's Chief Election Officer asks him to conduct a survey of Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior, Belief, and Practices (KABBP) of electors, with the help of professional agencies. The letter shows concern about low registration and poor participation of citizens in the election process. A report on the findings of the survey was to have been submitted to ECI latest by 31 August 2012.The concern of ECI about KABBP is welcome. Anthony Downs in an essay named Economic Theory of Democracy, published in 1957 discusses the forces that play in voting.…

BBMP has booted out a senior forest officer, on the ground that he was too expensive - the expense being an additional Rs 5 lakh per year. Brijesh Kumar, IFS, was deputed by state government to BBMP, to take care of lakes, horticulture and forests, since these resources are in a sorry state. Government had created the post of CCF (Chief Conservator of Forests) in BBMP, and appointed Kumar on May 17th.On October 17th, just as he completed five months, Kumar was relieved of his charge. BBMP's Standing Committee on Establishment and Administrative Reforms had made this decision in August.…

Many of us have been discussing the garbage issue and these are some of the comments.I live along a street near the Jayanagar shopping complex that has mainly commercial outlets. I have been segregating wet waste for years, I am interested in lending a hand with keeping the city clean, but once I segregate, where do I go ? ‘Door to door' collection is a farce -- no one knows when the garbage collection van comes, at what time, and whether it announces its arrival with a bell or whatever. I also leave the house early, and do not return…

BBMP has created an Action Plan on waste management for the next 1.5 years. It will submit the plan in High Court in a hearing on November 6th. HC has been hearing two PILs that are asking for BBMP to dispose of solid waste properly. Two parties - an Indiranagar resident named Kavitha Shankar, and an advocate G R Mohan - had filed separate cases in HC. The two cases have clubbed together by the Court. In these cases, last month the court had directed BBMP to collect segregated waste, to put realistic penalties on citizens who do not segregate…

Bengaluru's apartments are yet again at the receiving end of civic agencies' policies. This time over Waste management. While BBMP is pushing the pedal to ensure solid waste is segregated, it says it will not collect garbage from apartments. Some time back, large apartments were asked to set up their own Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) since BWSSB did not have the capacity or coverage to process their sewage. Some were suddenly slapped steep fines last year by KSPCB because of an obscure rule. Now BBMP has ordered that apartments should have their own garbage processing facilities by December 1st. Within…

While they are struggling to figure out the BBMP's muddled up garbage management policy, apartment owners are hit with tanker water price hikes.In the last 3-4 months water tanker prices have risen quite steeply, especially since the city's water crisis became severe. This applies to apartments in both outskirts and old areas. Most do not have functioning borewells, as opposed to individual houses. Bannerghatta Neighbourhood Association (BANA), a collective of 25 apartments along Bannerghatta Road, has faced sharp price hikes in the last few months. BANA Treasurer Shankar Bharadwaj says that the price varies from Rs 450 to Rs 600…

Brijesh Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forests, BBMP said yesterday that his agenda was to work towards a larger common goal in the city, balancing environment with the need for development.Speaking at the inauguration of ‘Nature in the City', a series of events centred around Biodiversity in Bangalore, he highlighted how BBMP had realised the need for an office to support the many lakes, parks and urban gardens under its care. He likened Bangalore growth to an animal once chicken-sized now grown to goat-size, but retains its chicken-sized arteries, he nevertheless reiterated his commitment to the environment. The event was held…

Early in the morning one may notice people sweeping their front yard, and then accumulating the leaves and other waste on the pavement. Yes the houses are clean, but the roads are a mess because of us. In a society that has high regard for cleanliness, we have yet to understand that cleanliness is not just inside our homes, but on the road as well. Drive down any city road and every corner is littered with massive amounts of garbage. Unsegregated waste just put into plastic bags and chucked on the road. Garbage being piled up. Pic: Mark Rasquinha The…

Recently BBMP, decided that it would put up an “adventure sports hub” on the hillocks of Turahalli forest on Kanakapura road. Nature lovers who regularly trek to the  forest decided it was time to protest.Old-timers of Bangalore will recollect Turahalli as a lovely forest, set with hillocks, where everyone could go, and did.Over a period of years, the pressure of population in Bangalore has meant that the once pristine forest has been “developed” into various layouts. All that remains is just a couple of hillocks. These are beloved to nature lovers, cyclists who organise downhill runs here, rock-climbers for whom…