Civic

3,559 trees may be felled for roads, Metro To enable five civil projects, 3,559 trees in the city are slated to be felled. More than 90 percent of the trees would be felled for road construction or widening in south Bengaluru. On Friday, an expert committee formed by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) started examining the tree-felling proposals submitted by three government agencies. This committee had been formed based on a High Court order. The proposals include cutting down 1,822 trees for road works between NICE Road and Magadi Road for a larger two-lane project by Karnataka State Highways…

Translated by Omshivaprakash H L and Mukund Gowda ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ, 1993 ರ ಜೂನ್ 1 ರಂದು ನಗರ ಆಡಳಿತದಲ್ಲಿ “ಜನರಿಗೆ ಅಧಿಕಾರ” ನೀಡಲು 74 ನೇ ಸಾಂವಿಧಾನಿಕ ತಿದ್ದುಪಡಿ ಅಥವಾ ನಾಗರಪಾಲಿಕಾ ಕಾಯ್ದೆಯನ್ನು ಜಾರಿಗೆ ತರಲಾಯಿತು. 74 ನೇ ಸಿಎ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ವಿಕೇಂದ್ರೀಕರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಮಹತ್ವ ನೀಡಿ, ನಾಗರಿಕರ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುವಿಕೆ ಮತ್ತು ಹೊಣೆಗಾರಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಸಲು  ಮೂರು ಲಕ್ಷಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಜನಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪುರಸಭೆ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಾರ್ಡ್ ಸಮಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿತ್ತು. ವಾರ್ಡ್ ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಸದಸ್ಯರು ವಾರ್ಡ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೈಗೊಂಡ ಕೆಲಸಗಳನ್ನು ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಿಸುವುದು, ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಯೋಜನೆಯನ್ನು ರಚಿಸುವುದು, ವಿವಿಧ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಜೆಟ್ ಹಂಚಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸುವುದು ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅನೇಕ ವಾರ್ಡ್‌ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಸಭೆಗಳು ಅನಿರ್ಧಿಷ್ಟವಾಗಿದೆ, ‍ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಸದಸ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಮಾತಿಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಅವಕಾಶ‌ ನೀಡದೇ, ಕೌನ್ಸಿಲರ್‌ಗಳು ಏಕಪಕ್ಷೀಯ ನಿರ್ಧಾರಗಳನ್ನು  ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇನ್ನು ಹಲವು ವಾರ್ಡ್‌ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಸಭೆಗಳು ಕೇವಲ ಕುಂದುಕೊರತೆ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ವೇದಿಕೆಗಳಾಗಿ ಮಾರ್ಪಟ್ಟಿವೆ.‌ ಅದಾಗ್ಯೂ  ಈ ಕುಂದುಕೊರತೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಂದಾಯಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಥವಾ ಪರಿಹರಿಸಲಾಗಿಲ್ಲ.…

Plea to regulate parking charges at malls The State Information Commission(SIC) has directed Chennai Corporation to look at parking charges at malls. The directive was issued following a plea filed by a social activist. Earlier in November 2017, the activist, Kalyanasundaram sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the Public Information Officer of the Chennai Corporation and wanted to know the laws under which management of malls collect parking charges. He also sought information on facilities provided to motorists parking their vehicles at the malls. GCC had replied that this information did not come under the purview…

Anti-CAA protests In spite of Section 144 of the CrPC being imposed on the city, thousands of students, activists and citizens protested against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), 2019, and the NRC (National Register of Citizens) on Thursday, December 19th. Police detained about 1000 people from various parts of the city on Thursday. Of them, 255 were arrested in eight cases and later freed on bail. Additional Police Commissioner (West) Umesh Kumar said they had been arrested under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). Eminent historian Ramachandra Guha was…

On December 18th, Bengaluru, which had seen near-daily protests for the previous few days, was gearing up for two simultaneous protests at 11 am the next day - one at Mysore Bank Circle and the other at Town Hall. This followed a nationwide call to hit the streets on December 19th, to protest against the recently-passed Citizenship Amendment Act (which would fast-track citizenship for non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and against the nationwide NRC promised by Home Minister Amit Shah.  Bhaskar Rao, the Bangalore Police Commissioner announced that Section 144 was going to be imposed from December 19th 6…

Karnataka government has imposed curbs in Bengaluru and some other parts of the state, under Section 144 of the CrPC. The government move came amidst widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Registry of Citizens (NRC). Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said yesterday that those who violate Section 144 would be booked. But what do our laws say about protests? If you want to hold a protest, what rights do you have and what permissions do you need to take? Do citizens have the right to protest? The word ‘protest’ is not explicitly mentioned in the…

75,000 illegal properties may be regularised State government may regularise about 75,000 unauthorised properties in BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) layouts. Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said that the illegal properties are located in 5000 acres of BDA land spread around the city. They are paying neither taxes nor development fees. The government is planning to levy penalties based on guidance values, so as to regularise them. A cabinet sub-committee has been formed, which will suggest some amendments to the BDA Act, 1976, for regularisation. The buildings can be regularised if Section 38(c) of the BDA Act is amended. The sub-committee…

Chennai gets first online portal to exchange reusable products Chennai became the first city in the country to have waste trading online, with the city corporation launching a website where Chennaites can buy and sell reusable and recycled products. A first-of-its-kind website in India, www.madraswasteexchange.com has a variety of products made from dry and wet waste such as school bags, slippers, vermicompost, manure, coconut powder, lemon dishwash among other products. Residents can collect the products from the 210 Resource Recovery Points (RRPs) across the city. The website is part of the Smart City Mission and currently, the civic body only…

Translated by Sandhya Raju மூன்று ஆண்டுகளுக்கு பின் உள்ளாட்சி தேர்தல் நடத்த தமிழகம் தயாராகி வரும் நிலையில்,  உள்ளாட்சி செயல்பாட்டில் அதிரடி மாற்றத்திற்கான அவசியத்தை வலியுறுத்துகின்றன தன்னார்வ அமைப்புகள். இந்த மாற்றம் நகர்புறம் மற்றும் கிராமப்புறத்தில் தேவை என மேலும் அவை தெரிவிக்கின்றன. என்ன மாற்றங்கள் தேவை என்பதையும், தன்னாட்சி இயக்கம் தலைமையிலான கூட்டணி அமைப்புகள் பட்டியலிட்டுள்ளன. வாய்ஸ் ஆப் பீப்பிள், சட்ட பஞ்சாயத்து இயக்கம், அறப்போர் இயக்கம், தோழன், இளைய தலைமுறை, எச் ஆர் ஆஃப் ஆகிய அமைப்புகள் ஒன்றிணைந்து,  முக்கிய அம்சங்கள் அடங்கிய கொள்கை விளக்க அறிவிப்பை வெளியிட்டுள்ளன. சீர்திருத்தங்களின் அவசியம் மற்றும் பொதுமக்களின் ஆதரவின் அவசியம் குறித்தும், வாய்ஸ் ஆப் பீப்பிள் இயக்கத்தின் உறுப்பினர் சாரு கோவிந்தன் பேசினார். "இந்த கொள்கை அறிவிப்பை எல்லா தரப்பினரிடமும் கொண்டு சேர்ப்பது நம் கையில் தான் உள்ளது. ஆட்சியாளர்கள் கவனத்திற்கு மட்டுமல்லாமல் பொது மக்களுக்கும் இதன் அவசியம் குறித்து…

With the state all set to conduct local body polls after a gap of three years, civic activists have called for sweeping changes in the system and functioning of local bodies, both rural and urban, with a view to improving them. A coalition of citizens’ groups such as Voice of People, Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, Arappor Iyakkam, Thozhan, Illaya Thalaimurai and HRF, led by Thannatchi Iyakkam, has released a manifesto detailing key demands for reforms in the local bodies. Charu Govindan, a member of Voice of People commented on the need for reforms and mobilisation of support from the public for…