Governance

With the kick off of the year 2017, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) put up a 35-page brochure [1] highlighting its plans for preparation for Revised Master Plan 2031 of Bengaluru city. The brochure is divided into 10 parts, including legal provisions, population projections, rationalization of jurisdictions of planning district and transport sectors, water and waste water, solid waste management, and power supply projections. As per the revision process of the Master Plan, the Revised Master Plan 2031 is the fourth revision following those made in 1984, 1995, and 2007. Citizens of Bangalore are confronted with plans on the future…

Women from Ambedker Colony, Ullal Upanagar (A suburb in south west Bengaluru) talk about the problems associated with their Ration cards. Their problems relate mostly to ad hoc cancellation of the Ration Cards and non issue of houshold rations from active ration cards. Sometimes they have to go to a designated ration shop far away from their homes, to collect thier rations and involves travel cost and time away from work.

Let there be no disasters today. That is the prayer every firefighter begins his day with. Having said that, they have to be prepared for every emergency, every contingency. Central to their efforts and success is their training, discipline and the equipment at their disposal. Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services is the agency that handles fire rescue and other disaster management operations in Karnataka. We visited Jayanagar fire station in Bengaluru to understand how the department works. Among the fire stations in Bengaluru, Jayanagar fire station in Bengaluru South Range is among the largest and busiest. It has a…

Wherever BDA shows its Master Plan, there are strong objections to it. People point out that it ... (a) .. is autocratic, having been developed with no input from the people of the city. It is almost as if it is being shown to us after everything is done and dusted, and only to comply with the legal requirement for 'consultations'. (b) ... is ill-conceived. The idea that the existing BDA region can / should support twice the population we now have is foolhardy, besides being environmentally tenuous. (c) ... is unconstitutional, having followed none of the statutory processes for…

On January 16th, Jones Lang LaSalle, a professional services and investment management company released the list of top 30 most dynamic cities in the world. Surprisingly, the JLL’s City Momentum Index (CMI) put Bengaluru in the first position. The study ranks cities around the world based on 42 variables including socio-economic factors like GDP, population, corporate headquarters, commercial real estate momentum and innovation capacity and technological prowess, access to education and environmental quality. In the concluding remarks of the research article, Jeremy Kelly, Research Director at JLL writes, “looking ahead, we’ll be watching for the effects that protectionism, nationalism and…

'Sakala’ meaning ‘In Time’ is an initiative of the government Karnataka to ensure time bound services to its citizens. There are around 700 public services of the government Karnataka which are covered by this initiative and citizens through this initiative, can demand time bound services from their government. Learn more about how to use Sakala to get birth certificates or to get a Khata extract!

Orion Mall. Pic: Shree D N Around August 2016, as BBMP began its storm water drain encroachment clearance work following flooding in various parts of the city, a case involving a high profile encroacher came to light. The alleged encroacher was Brigade Group. A survey report submitted by the Land Records Joint Director to the Commissioner of Survey, Settlement and Land Records on September 2nd, estimated that the Brigade Gateway that houses Orion Mall in Yeshwanthpur was constructed on 3.4 acre of B Kharab land which was meant for a storm water drain (SWD). In the concluding words of his…

Bengaluru's bruhath problem with sewage is notoriously well known, with pictures of foaming lakes and fish kills attracting global media attention. But what is less well known is the fact that this city has the highest number of apartment-scale sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the country. With over 2000 small-scale STPs housed in apartment complexes alone, along with an equally substantial number in commercial complexes, Bengaluru could well be called the 'city of STPs'. The primary driver of this ‘revolution’ of small-scale STPs in the city is the 2004 KSPCB order mandating all new residential complexes with more than 50…

At the end of the Gandhi Mandapam road in Chennai, at the point where the road meets the Kotturpuram bridge over the Adyar river, is the Vinayaka temple. Locals say this was one of Amma’s favourites in the city. Her motorcade would often stop on its way back from Raj Bhavan or the airport towards Poes Garden at the exact point where Amma, seated in the passenger seat of her SUV, could get a glimpse of the deity. The temple was closed on Tuesday, and on the notice that talks of the closure, someone drew a pair of eyes with…

The BMRDA Act was passed in the mid-1980s, to set up the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, and to empower it to direct the planned development of the state capital region. Since its founding, however, the BMRDA has done nothing useful, because the state government has always preferred it that way. Why was the BMRDA set up, then, if no one wanted it to do anything? It's hard to be certain, but if I had to guess, I would say the answer lies with Ramakrishna Hegde. Hegde was an unusual Chief Minister, in one very important way that we are…