Policy

H S Doreswamy inaugurating the event. Ministers Ramalinga Reddy and Dinesh Gundu Rao too are seen. Pic: Kedar Nadella Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) which spearheaded the campaign ‘Govern Right, Govern Responsibly’ presented the citizen’s manifesto to the newly elected 28 MLAs on 7th June 2013, at the Town hall. This manifesto/charter gives voice to the woes of Bengaluru’s citizens and also outlines their demands and suggestions about what should be done for the betterment of the city.   The charter was formed after days of discussions and deliberations with more than 300 Residents Welfare Associations and various citizen groups who…

Two weeks ago, when there were clear indications of a Congress victory in Karnataka, senior party leaders were not sure about how the state’s chief minister was going to be chosen. Many told the media that the ‘High Command’ in New Delhi would decide. Siddaramaiah Siddarame Gowda, 65, better known only by his first name, must have been considering his chances against veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, currently a minister in the UPA government, and select others. The ‘High Command’ then sprang a surprise. Instead of ‘selection’ which everyone with an opinion was conjecturing wildly about, New Delhi surprisingly chose election. A…

Here is a new government which has an opportunity to think long term as well as an opportunity to bring in far-ranging changes.In terms of infrastructure, there should be importance given to commuter rail issue. In the next one year, with the Centre and State having the same party running the governments, it is a good opportunity to try and push the issue in a concrete manner and get it into the railway budget and the system. The commuter rail system will have Bangalore develop in different ways along the railway tracks and allow for much more access for people…

Leo Saldanha is a full-time Coordinator of Bangalore-based Environment Support Group. He is an expert in the areas of Environmental Law and Policy, Decentralisation, Urban Planning and a variety of Human Rights and Development-related issues, working across many sectors for over a decade. He is a keen campaigner on critical environmental and social justice issues and has guided several campaigns demanding evolution of progressive laws and effective action. He has supported various distressed communities to secure justice through public interest litigations and advocacy efforts. He has argued as party in person several public interest litigations, many of which have resulted…

■ The government should put an end to all forms of mining. We should protect these resources and not make profit by selling them.■ All government primary schools must be developed into efficient centres of learning where every kid can go. If possible all the children in the neighbourhood must be encouraged to go to these government schools.■ The government institutions must work with undeterred commitment towards education and health. These two things matter the most to the poor and underprivileged.■ There should be no room for any form of corruption. The State government should not mirror the situation of…

There are a number of things that the CM can do, to clearly signal a break with the failures of the past. As the new Chief Minister takes office, many Bangaloreans must be wondering what lies in store for our city. We are all hopeful that along with a new government, we will get a new direction too. We've had enough of irresponsible apathy and outright criminality of the political leadership over the last decade. The city is virtually gasping for a new politics, focused on solving problems and being accountable to the public. There are a number of things…

The Lok Satta party headed by Jayaprakash Narayan is flexing its muscles in Bangalore as the state gets ready for elections in May. The party has named 15 candidates for MLA elections in the state, including a second list that was released on March 27th. Nine are contesting in Bangalore city itself, and the rest from other parts of Karnataka. Lok Satta has a reformist positioning in the Indian political sphere. It supports clean governance, setting up of a strong Lokpal, liberalising agriculture, closing of populist subsidies, FDI in retail, and so forth. Jayaprakash Narayan. Pic: Loksattaparty.org Jayaprakash Narayan, 57,…

"Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose", said someone. But, for many people who often lose the little that they have, freedom is another wor(l)d. And that wor(l)d did not appear on 15th August 1947 or later for the majority who live in India at present. In fact, such a wor(l)d may never exist at all for this majority. So, sometime in mid 2007 some of us in Bangalore and other parts of the country decided that we should support and celebrate ongoing struggles for freedom. From that emerged the idea of a Civil Society Summit (CSS) -…

"With economic growth, development and climate change, how India decides to govern its environment in the age of rapid transitions is of paramount importance. How individuals, societies and the state confront the myriad trade-offs involved will determine the state of the environment we leave behind us." PAC Colloquium Public Affairs Centre is organizing a colloquium on Citizen Voices in Environmental Governance on 23-24 August 2012, to explore how citizens can play a constructive role in promoting better environmental policy and governance in India. The venue is the Bangalore International Centre (TERI Complex) in Domlur, Bangalore.  Policymakers, researchers, development experts, activists and committed individuals will be…

A meeting of lake teams in Bangalore was organised by Arekere Neighbourhood Improvement Trust (ANIT) together with OneBengaluru on 5th Aug 2012. The meeting was well attended by more than 125 people from 20-odd different lake teams including PNLIT trustees and volunteers - Usha, Nupur, Sapana, Vijay, Vivek, Prajna, Vishnu, Siddharth and Mihir.  Usha, Vishnu, Siddharth and Mihir at the meeting Photo: Nupur Jain Directly after the meeting, a team of some 10 people from Kaggadasapura Lake in East Bangalore visited Puttenahalli Lake. They are keen on leveraging our experiences at Puttenahalli Lake to conserve their neighbourhood lake. Below is a…