GENRE: In Focus

Residents of a few Sobha apartments in Bellandur have challenged the imposition of annual fees on apartments that operate STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants). According to rules of the state pollution control board (KSPCB), apartments that own STPs have to pay an annual CFO (Consent for Operation) fee.STPs are mandatory for apartments with area more than 20,000 sq mt in non-UGD areas. These apartments are treated on par with the most polluting industries, categorised as ‘Red' industries (Orange and green are the less polluting industries). The CFO fees for these industries depend on the capital investment in the project. Depending on…

The Karnataka state government's deadlines to launch mega transport projects continue to be paper statements of intent. Namma Metro's persistent delay is now virtually taken for granted. In the meantime, despite the deadline of 2013-14, Bangalore's Rs.6700 crores High Speed Rail Link (HSRL between city centre and the airport) is still stuck at the preliminary stage. A concessionaire, the firm that will fund, build and operate the PPP, is yet to be selected through tender process; construction will start only after the concessionaire awards tenders to other parties. Currently, only prequalification of concessionaires is completed. Prequalification is the process of…

A recent report by state government's Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has exposed several problems with BMTC's massive Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) project. TTMCs are jargon for the swanky new terminals BMTC is building around the city, 45 in all, of which 10 are completed. The cost of these 10 terminals is over Rs 450 cr. DULT comes under the Urban Development Department (UDD) of the state government. For instance, only 15 buses can park in the Banashankari terminal at a time, giving each bus only 31 seconds in the bay during peak hours. This is considered…

Hasiru Usiru a citizen's group kicked off a weekly event to identify problem spots for pedestrians in the city on July 11. The group invited citizens to participate in the 'come, cross the road' event at various city junctions and collected data on problems. Broken footpath makes it even more harder. Pic courtesy : Kilikili Here's the report Why the event? In Bangalore, the majority of commute happens through public transport/cycle or walk.  This means that more than 50% of the people are pedestrians. But unfortunately, the projects touted by our authorities are aimed at the vehicle users.  We wanted…

Property values in the city are set to rise with hike in guidance value. Guidance values are expected to go up by 30-100% this year (minimum of 30% within core areas and maximum of 100% in outskirts); rates would go up by more than 200% in outer areas like those near Peripheral Ring Road, since the market rates here have rocketed since the last revision. The previous hikes were in 2007, 2005, 2004 and 2002. During the 2007 hike, the value of residential, commercial and industrial properties were hiked by 50%, 60% and 25% on average.Officials at the Department of…

The Sankey Road trees might have survived longer had the Mayor Sharadamma Ramanjaneya initiated a meeting of the Tree Authority of which she is the convener. But Shardamma is not aware of the Tree Authority for Bangalore. The authority is supposed to hear the public's complaints on tree felling. Citizens and organisations can appeal decisions by forest department officials such as the BBMP Tree Officer, permitting or disallowing cutting of trees in the city. One of the trees BBMP cut during the midnight operation on June 30th-July 1st. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. The top forest official in BBMP limits, Deputy Conservator…

Leo Saldanha of the city-based green NGO Environmental Support Group intervened in a move that partly led to dropping of charges against the protestors and activists arrested on July 1st during the Sankey Road episode. Protesters were objecting to cutting of 19 trees on Sankey Road for it's proposed widening from Bhashyam Circle to Malleshwaram 18th Cross. Victoria D'Souza, protester, was dragged along with the other women to the police van. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. Saldanha spoke to city police commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji and questioned the decision of Circle Inspector of Vyalikaval station to slap charges on those arrested under…

As is widely experienced by Bangaloreans, malls, high rises and tech parks are now congestion hotspots around the city. A recent update at the Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP)'s Facebook page talks about traffic congestion at Nagavara junction in north Bangalore. Traffic at the junction is four times the capacity during peak hours; BTP attributes this to the nearly 10,000 vehicles that go to and from Manyata Tech Park for two hours every morning and evening.Citizen Matters has found out that the city's sanction process for malls and similar complexes is at the root of the rapidly worsening problem. Traffic management…

It was a tense few hours for residents of Malleshwaram on 29th June.   Some 25 residents including activist Meenakshi Bharath had gathered near Sankey Tank at 11 am to prevent the auction of trees that were to be felled by the BBMP for widening of Sankey Road.  Tree officer and Assistant Conservator of Forests, Venkateshappa had come with other BBMP officials to initiate the auction. Protestors in a heated argument with Tree Officer Venkateshappa. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. Anticipating trouble, personnel from Karnataka State Police (KSP) were present at the venue. Vinay Sreenivasa of the city's green network Hasiru Usiru requested…

Rejuvenation of three lakes - Ambalipura, Kaikondanahalli and Puttenahalli lakes in south-east and south Bengaluru stand out as examples of successful projects undertaken by the BBMP. A common denominator in all three rejuvenation is the initiative taken by citizens living nearby to save them from extinction. Three concerned citizens started off the process - K Rajesh Rao, Priya Ramasubban and Usha Rajagopalan. Weeding in progress at Ambalipura lake. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi Rao, a resident of Trinity Woods on Sarjapur Road and an IT professional, got the attention of BBMP towards the pathetic condition of the 7.4 acre Ambalipura lake.…