Governance

Pic courtesy: Janaagraha Smt G Padmavathi, Mayor, BBMP and Mr N Manjunath Prasad, IAS, Commissioner, BBMP launched the MyCityMyBudget (MCMB) programme of Janaagraha, to gather budget requests from citizens for the City Budget 2017-18. MCMB will gather budget requests from citizens’ on three tracks; 1) through workshops facilitated by the MCMB team at Resident Welfare Associations, schools, colleges, urban poor communities, workers groups and corporates, 2) online at www.ichangemycity.com, and 3) through the Budget bus that will collect inputs from citizens on the streets. Citizens can provide budget requests across any civic issue through a simple form at the workshops…

Newly elected Mayor G Padmavathi is congratulated by fellow-corporators after she was elected as the Mayor. Pic: Akshatha M The BBMP council elected its 50th Mayor and Deputy Mayor amidst high-drama on September 28, 2016. (Wednesday). G Padmavathi (56), Congress corporator from Prakash Nagar ward was elected as the Mayor of Bengaluru and JD(S) corporator M Anand (53) from Radhakrishna Temple ward was unanimously elected as the Deputy Mayor. With it, the Congress and JD(S) coalition continues to rule the BBMP for one more year. In the backdrop of coalition of the two parties that continued in this election, it…

N Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), believes in minimum contact but maximum governance. He is from 1994 IAS cadre. In an interview with Cherry Agarwal, a student of Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM), he talks about a wave of digitisation to put information on public domain, the long term plans of the BBMP, the challenges he faces and more. BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad. Pic courtesy: BBMP Commissioner FB page How has your journey been since 1994 to being the BBMP Commissioner? In 1994 after getting into the IAS I was allotted the West…

On Monday, (September 12 2016) as I was watching the prime-time news on Kannada TV channels, my child walked in. Sitting beside me, she watched the televised show of miscreants vandalising various places. Suddenly she exclaimed: 'Ammaa!' The TV showed the vandals ransacking an Adyar Anand Bhavan outlet, probably on Mysore Road. She asked me, 'Amma, so there won't be Adyar Anand Bhavan anymore?' I reassured her, 'Yes there will be. These are all temporary problems. Malleshwaram's A2B is intact, so you don't need to worry.' A2B is her favourite hotel and has been a lifesaver for us on the…

BBMP has come up with clear guidelines to manage solid waste generated during festivals. After Ganesha Chaturti, BBMP has geared up for Bakrid. Top officials and department heads including Mayor Manjunath Reddy and Commisioner Manjunath Prasad met in late August and have finalised the arrangements. Awareness and enforcement No slaughter can be carried out in public areas - roads, footpaths in areas outside the homes or shop in public view. Only animals in the permissible list can be slaughtered. Segregation at source is compulsory. Health Inspectors and Medical Officers will supported by volunteers have been reaching out to the various…

Today marks my 12th day in Bengaluru and I am proud to say my desire to take pictures of every single passing cow has subsided. Since arriving the weekend before last, I filled my phone’s camera roll with photos of cattle, likely confusing many passersby who have shared the roads with these guys their whole lives. I laughed out loud on several occasions, like when a large group of them walked right past my gate one evening, or when I moved out of the way of one only to have it move the same way putting me right back in…

Absence of physical verification with the state Revenue Department data while registering the property and lack of timely survey and settlement of revenue land were the factors that initially led to storm water drain encroachments in Bengaluru. However, these flaws could have been identified and fixed subsequently, had the urban local bodies done their duty diligently. In the process, knowingly or unknowingly citizens purchased the properties encroaching upon drains and are now facing the music. In the series so far: Part 1: Why and how did stormwater drain encroachments take place in Bengaluru? And the concerns raised by citizens who…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s demolition drive against properties built on storm water drains in Bengaluru city has raised questions over the loopholes in the system that led to encroachment of government properties over the last few decades. Even as the authorities are now accusing the developers and citizens of encroaching the public property, how did all this happen over the years? What are the ambiguities in the system that led to easy encroachment of storm water drains or any government land for that matter? A building on encroached storm water drain was demolished at Avani Sringeri Layout near Kodichikkanahalli…

Early August, house owners in some neighbourhoods of Bengaluru woke up to find they may soon not have a roof over their heads. They were gripped by panic. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had initiated the drive against storm water drain (SWD) encroachers. On the first day of the drive, buildings were demolished in more than 32 locations in Bommanahalli, Mahadevapura and Yelahanka zones. Emotions ran high at the demolition sites. House owners were seen pleading the BBMP officials to grant them extra time to vacate, while some of them even got into an argument. It was a disturbing…

V. Balakrishnan IPS, popularly known as 'Balky', is one of Chennai city's top cops. A student of Mass Communication, he understands the power of communication and the role of media thoroughly and uses the might of social media to keep the people appraised of what goes on in his precinct. Women's safety is a subject close to his heart and he sat down for a chat with Citizen Matters one afternoon, discussing various aspects of it. Q. Is the city becoming more unsafe for women? Actually, if you look at the statistics, there is no actual increase in crime against…