Governance

Bellandur residents have had a see-saw of joys and sorrows, good news and bad news. When I moved here two years ago, I’d look out of my window and feast my eyes on that vast peaceful expanse of water, with flocks of white egrets hovering above. Kingfishers, coucals and green barbets visited daily, the water being a magnet for uncommon birds. The setting sun on the water was a sight to behold, peaceful and awe-inspiring. We were privileged to live overlooking this beautiful lake. A scene from Bellandur lake area. Pic: Shikha Balakrishnan Slowly, that feast for our eyes became…

Today (May 30th) is the last day for citizens owning properties in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits to file their property tax with five per cent tax rebate. But even after two months of BBMP making the property tax payment system open, citizens have continued to complain of issues with tax payment. Earlier this month, one of our readers and property tax expert D R Prakash (who is also the founder-president of Osborne Road Area Residents Welfare Association) wrote an article about the glitches in property tax payment portal. Last week he again wrote an e-mail to Citizen Matters,…

Coffee: Rs.12, bus fare to the coffee store < 1km away: Rs.5 each way. On a hot day like today, count on us and you won't miss your coffee. — BMTC (@BMTC_Bangalore) May 26, 2017 Finally Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is doing everything it can, to show citizens in Bengaluru that they really care about the city transport. New buses, free wifi in non-AC buses, reduced fare and double-decker buses are only a few of the measures. The recently concluded GovJam event is an example of BMTC’s proactive approach to the citizen participation model that’s becoming popular in Bengaluru.…

Feel you waste time at bus stops? Plan your trip with our app, you'll get to the stop just on time for your bus https://t.co/IgAjglMCsC pic.twitter.com/Dq1YOtA2R3 — BMTC (@BMTC_Bangalore) May 22, 2017 Thus said Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Company (BMTC), in a recent tweet. The tweet was obviously about the Intelligent Transport System BMTC has developed spending crores of rupees. But does the ITS actually work as it should? The official ITS mobile application was released in May 2016 with much fanfare. The BMTC claimed that the app would help commuters track their buses in real time. Initial reviews by the consumers…

BBMP's proposal to begin charging people to park on the streets can seem like a long-overdue scheme. But while the principle of charging for public space seems reasonable, we should do more than that. We should set targets for what we hope to achieve by charging parking fees. One direct result will be revenues to the BBMP. Each of the 85 streets on which parking charges will be introduced should produce several lakhs in income to the municipal corporation each month. But are there other results we wish to see? And if yes, can we connect those results too to…

தமிழக விவசாயிகள் டெல்லியில் போராடிய போது அது குறித்து பாராளுமன்றமும் விவாதிக்கவில்லை, தமிழக சட்டமன்றமோ கூடவே இல்லை. பாராளுமன்றம் தமிழக விவசாய்களின் பிரச்சினை தமிழக சட்டமன்றத்தின் பொறுப்பு என்று அவர்கள் போராட்டத்தைக் கண்டு கொள்ளவில்லை , தமிழக சட்டமன்றமோ விவசாயிகள் டெல்லியில் தானே போராடுகிறார்கள் , அதனால் நமக்கு என்ன என்று இருந்துவிட்டார்கள். நம் கையே நமக்கு உதவி , நம் பிரச்சனைகளை அரசுக்கு வெளிப்படுத்துவதுடன் நின்று விடாது நாமும் நம் பிரச்சினைகள் என்ன,அது எதனால் வந்தது , அதற்கு என்ன தீர்வு என்று ஆராய்ந்து அதற்கான தீர்வுகள் காண வேண்டும் . அதற்கான முதல் முயற்சியாக தமிழகத்தின் பல்வேறு பகுதிகளில் இருந்து வந்த 50-கும் மேற்பட்டோர் 'சட்ட பஞ்சாயத்து இயக்கம்' நடத்திய இளைஞர்களுக்கான 'மாதிரி சட்டமன்றம்' என்ற நிகழ்வில் விவசாயிகளின் பிரச்சனைகள் மற்றும் அதற்கான தீர்வுகள் குறித்தும் பேசியது வரவேற்கபட வேண்டிய ஒன்றாகும். விவசாயிகளின் சிக்கல்கள் மற்றும் செய்யவேண்டிய மாற்றங்கள் குறித்தும் முன்வைக்கப்பட்ட கருத்துக்கள் அரசின் கவனத்திற்கு கொண்டு வர வேண்டும் . அதே நேரத்தில் விவசாய்களும்…

BBMP likes to create regular, small contracts. This system is informally known as 'hale kallu, hosa billu', and is well understood by all the stakeholders !! Take the example of shoulder drains. To begin with, it is common sense that a drain that collects rain water from the road should be built adjacent to the road and not to the property walls. But what we do is the exact opposite. Thereafter, to connect utilities like water and sewage to the properties, we run pipes across the drains, and these pipes becomes obstacles that collect various things thrown into the drain. As…

May 30th is the last date for paying your property tax in advance, if you want to avail discount. But the problems in your account have not been fixed in the BBMP portal to collect taxes, in spite of having a complete year at their (BBMP) disposal. So in all probability, you will end up paying inaccurate amount this year as well, if your account had a problem last year. The wrong calculations of last year are being carried forward this year as well. Those who paid as ‘early birds’ with highertaxes due to revision in tax as well as…

In the first part of the interview, you saw Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood speaking about various issues related to traffic management in the city. In this second and last part of the interview, he makes elaborate comments about issues such as the most challenging type of crime that Bengaluru police face, the drug menace, of the conflicts between foreign nationals and local people and how prepared are police for the election year. Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood. Pic: Akshatha M How is the nature of crime changing with changing times? What is the most challenging type of…

On the new year’s eve the State government appointed senior IPS officer Praveen Sood as the Police Commissioner of Bengaluru. On the same night, incidents of 'mass molestation' were reported in the city, showing Bengaluru in a bad light. Now that the dust has settled, and the police chief is completing three months in his office, he says he is working with an agenda which he terms as “citizen empowerment.” In a detailed interview with the Citizen Matters, the Police Commissioner tells why it is important for city police to shift from citizen awareness to citizen empowerment - to make…