GENRE: In Focus

Even after winning a court case against the builder for misappropriation of open spaces in their layout, residents of Reliaable Tranquil layout near HSR layout, off Haralur Road, are a long way away from getting any justice. Residents had found that a park and a Civic Amenity (CA) site, which were originally part of the layout plan, was actually someone else's property. Reliaable Developers (RD) is the builder of the layout, with offices at Museum Road, Bengaluru. (Civic Amenity sites as per town planning rules are meant for public utilities like banks or recreation centres, and are open to public)  …

In a desperate bid to provide a playground for more than 700 children living in L&T South City, residents of the apartment complex in Mico-Arakere Layout on 19th March hired a bulldozer to level a part of the 5.5 acre land that was meant to be developed as a playground. The layout is located off Bannerghatta Road roughly opposite IIM-Bengaluru.  No cricket match, this one. Hulimavu Police had a brush with residents of L&T South City on Mar 19. Pic: SUGRUHA. The event witnessed high drama as Hulimavu police, BDA officials and officials from even the BBMP were at the…

Garbage contractor S Ramachandra Reddy is in charge of Bellandur ward (150) since December 2009. Bellandur is in the south-eastern outskirts of Bengaluru, and falls under BBMP's Mahadevapura Zone. Reddy's track record has been extremely poor and yet he stays on, and even talks of the new contract coming up this year. Contract workers shifting garbage from autos to tipper lorry at Haralur road, near Kaikondanahalli lake. Pic Navya P K. Mamatha, Environment Engineer, BBMP (Mahadevpura zone) says that there have been many complaints about this contractor. "When public complain to us about specific instances, we attend to those promptly.…

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) proposed tender draft for solid waste management (SWM) in the city includes levying a cess for garbage collection. The implementation of the cess has thrown up more questions than answers, leaving citizens wondering about whether the BBMP was serious about the measure.  N S Ramakanth, DC (Revenue), BBMP, confirmed to Citizen Matters that the cess will be collected from April 2011 itself, along with property tax. "There will be a new form for this, its format has been finalised already." Since advance property tax payment is accepted in April only, there is no issue…

In Bengaluru's common spaces, an array of sculptures are placed in various venues, from street corners and traffic circles to important expanses of municipal land and strategic corners of private property that have large, open frontage. What kind of sculpture sits in these spaces? Is it always art and is it always public? A journey through the streets suggests that big questions about the politics of art and the poetics of the public are available for discussion in every neighbourhood. The artist places the work to initiate a very large dialogue in common space. Most of Bangalore's public sculptures, on…

International Women's Day celebrated for the hundredth year. It would appear that much has changed in a century. Still, in 2011, it hasn't been an easy time for city-based women who aspire to step out of their homes. Forget about the more 'conservative' rural areas. For all Bengaluru's 'progress', it's still a 'kids or career' choice for most working mothers in the city. They continue to have to compromise on their ambitions; only handful of companies actually accommodate them. Work from Home Elizabeth Rajesh, resident of JP Nagar 5th phase and a mid-level employee in a tech firm, moved to…

Garbage, sewage and construction debris are eating up Bengaluru's Chunchaghatta lake situated in the Konankunte ward, adjacent to Eshwar Layout in southern JP Nagar.  A Citizen Matters inquiry has become a wake-up call to the authorities this month, but it remains to be seen what happens next. According to according to BBMP records, the lake is spread over 14 acres. Birds flocking the lake despite garbage and construction debris being dumped. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi Sujatha, 39, a domestic worker, lives on the banks of the lake, says that she has tried telling her neighbours to not dump their garbage…

A working group constituted by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's ABIDe task force submitted its recomendations on rules for implementing RTE (Right To Education) in Karnataka to the government on February 3. A major change that the group proposed to the government's own original draft was to make the selection of unaided schools for RTE based on unmet demand in local areas. ABIDe as recommended removing provisions that make RTE mandatory for all unaided schools. ABIDe has also recommended removing restrictions regarding fees, admission procedures etc., on unaided schools.  ABIDe Working Group presenting RTE draft to Primary and Secondary Education…

If a new road in your neighbourhood is desperately needed or the local BBMP contractor is burning waste locally instead of transporting it, or if you want to use your ward's BBMP funds to spruce up a rundown local playground, what will you do? Where will you start? You'll likely talk to your residents association office bearers and then one of them or you directly will try to reach your BBMP ward councillor. But let's face it. There are roughly 25000-50000 residents in a ward. How many such requests will your councillor be able to handle? Besides, councillors have their…

On February 7th morning, Karnataka's Urban Development and Law Minister Minister Suresh Kumar was to hold meeting to discuss a long-pending bill to reform Bengaluru's administration. This is the BMRG or Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Governance Bill, drafted by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's own ABIDe task force. Kumar had invited all 28 Bangalore MLAs, 3 MPs and officials of city agencies. What does this BILL change? * Longer-term and more powers for the mayor * Metropolitan planning committee (with elected members of BBMP council and panchayats) will run greater Bengaluru, not the state government * BDA's planning power will end.…