GENRE: In Focus

A new option to get your auto woes addressed is holding out promise for Bengaluru, thanks to the Transport Department's initial enthusiasm to respond. Auto Watch, an initiative by the technology platform Kiirti, is co-ordinating with the Transport Department to address the grievances of auto commuters. The complaints that the public reported have been forwarded to the concerned RTOs for action. Transport Commissioner Bhaskar Rao has instructed officials to ensure that each RTO should seize five autos against which there are complaints. The action taken by the RTOs will be updated in the site soon. Kiirti is an initiative by…

Did you know that rail connectivity already exists between KR Puram and Electronic City? Or between Whitefield and Yeshwantpur? Bangalore has grown so large over the past decade that many peri-urban South-Western Railway stations are now within the greater Bangalore region. The prospect of introducing commuter trains between major city hotspots located along SW Railway's network has therefore been attractive to many and increasingly so today, with Bangalore's worsening road traffic situation. [Click on Image to Enlarge]. Praja and CiSTUP's report proposes these routes for commuter rail services. Image courtesy: Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service, Call to Action, July 2010 But…

Litigations have been flying thick and fast at L&T South City apartments, one of the premium residential complexes in south Bengaluru. Six court cases have been filed between the apartment owners, land owner and the developer within the last two years. South City is located at Mico-Arekere Layout, off Bannerghatta Road. Citizen Matters spoke to state advocate-general Ashok Haranahalli on the issue of 'gated communities'. Read the interview here The main contention is regarding two deeds that the original land owner Dinesh Ranka made to the BDA - one in 1996 and another in 2006 - relinquishing 12 of the…

Tuesday September 14th was Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) day in Bangalore. Drawn into severe scrutiny by citizens protesting the TDR scheme's use as compensation for roadwidening, the state government's Urban Development Department organised a workshop on the controversial scheme. Following that, in the evening Samaya TV, a Kannada 24x7 news channel, organised a live debate on the topic. (See inset box for a brief report on the debate). As was the concern of many citizen action groups, the government's day-long workshop turned out to be a mostly technical session on TDR's implementation. Bureaucrats from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat…

Of the 35 lakes in Mahadevpura assembly constituency in northeast Bengaluru, 23 have become dysfunctional, according to a report authored by urban ecologist Dr Harini Nagendra, Ramesh Sivaram (member of resident association federation of Bellandur) and Dr S Subramanya (Professor at University of Agricultural Sciences). The report classifies seven lakes as ‘extremely polluted', another seven as ‘heavily polluted, drying' and nine lakes as ‘completely dry'. Only 10 ten lakes are categorised as healthy while two are under restoration. Bengaluru-based Harini is also co-author of papers with US-based political scientist Elinor Ostrom, Nobel prize winner for Economics in 2009. Harini Nagendra,…

More than a week after BBMP proposed Rs 8488 crores as the budget for 2010-11, the corporation on Thursday went a step ahead and announced an additional Rs 350 crores to the budget through revenue projections. Mayor S K Nataraj and Chairman of Finance and Taxation Committee Chairman P M Sadashiva, addressing the media after the BBMP budget was approved in council. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal. The Rs 350 crores is an increase in revenue projections through the following: a Rs 70 crore increase in betterment charges (earlier estimate was  Rs 120 crores), Rs 150 crores more of property tax (earlier…

Based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Bangalore-based Institute of Public Health (IPH), the Karnataka High Court (HC) has issued notices to the Karnataka state health and family welfare department, and the union ministries of commerce and health. The PIL challenges the sponsorship and participation of the Tobacco Board of India (a Government of India entity established under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce) in the Global Tobacco Networking Forum (GTNF), scheduled to be held at ITC  Royal Gardenia (near Kanteerva stadium) between October 4th - 8th, here in Bangalore. The Global Tobacco Networking Forum is scheduled to…

The BBMP  has proposed an expenditure of Rs.8488 crores for Bengaluru in its maiden budget session today. The same figure for last year (2009-10) when the city administration was running without an elected council was Rs 3582.02 crores. P N Sadashiva (BJP), Chairperson of the Taxation and Finance Committee and corporator of the Sunkenahalli ward, presenting the BBMP budget on August 30. BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah, Mayor S K Nataraj and Deputy Mayor N Dayananda share the dias. Pic: Navya P K. However, BBMP's opening balance for 2010-11 was a mere Rs 424.72 cr. The administration proposes bridge the gap…

Over the last few weeks the state government, BBMP and city officials have been dilly-dallying over roadwidening in Bengaluru. The project itself has spurred a number of protests across the city and has also resulted in the forming of several associations and groups to jointly fight this. Former Mayor P R Ramesh filed a petition in the High Court in December 2009. File photo. But if you thought it was only public outrage that was stopping the city administration from carrying out roadwidening work, here's the real story. Over 100 roads, notified for roadwidening, are actually stonewalled because of an…

After Governor H R Bhardwaj refused to sign the Sakrama Bill last month, the B S Yeddyurappa-led state government is now planning to take its chances again by re-sending the bill for the governor's approval. The bill has been with the state's Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation (DPAL) for almost a month now after the governor sent it back. But transport minister Ashoka (MLA-Padmanabhanagar) says that the governor's reason for not approving the bill - the 2007 High Court stay on the implementation of the penalty scheme - is not valid. A January 2008 meeting, with citizens discussing Setback…