Governance

Property tax rates are very low. Yes, I said low  I know it is not a popular thing to say, but it's the truth. In Bangalore, we pay about 0.06 per cent of the value of a residential property in annual taxes, slightly more in some cases. In Seattle, just to pick a random point of comparison, the tax rate is between 0.8 and 1.1 per cent per year. That's 14 to 19 times higher. Council tax in the UK is in the same range, maybe even higher. There's an old saying that if you pay less (peanuts) you'll get…

Prakash Belawadi. Pic courtesy: Abhinaya Taranga Prakash Belawadi is an artiste and a multi-faceted person who has been working in the fields of arts, culture and media. He is active in the intellectual circles of Bengaluru. He was in the Lok Satta party and contested BBMP elections in 2010. In 2014 Parliamentary elections, he was seen supporting BJP through his Facebook posts. Citizen Matters spoke to Prakash Belawadi, to explore what he, as a supporter of the party in the power in the centre, would expect the government to do. Here are the excerpts: What should be the priority of…

Media has been asking what Bangalore BJP MPs can do in new government, especially since the MPs are from the ruling party. Two things come to mind.(a) Make the Commuter Rail project happen. This has been pending for so long, and for such flimsy reasons that it is a shame that we are the only metro without suburban rail connectivity. Over half a million people will benefit daily, and it will also lessen the load on the city. If we also figure out how to create a second airport in the south (between BLR and Mysore) and a new railway station…

  Elections are over, and every political leader is in an introspective mode. Citizen Matters spoke to Prithvi Reddy, leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Karnataka, to understand his views on the results and the way forward for the party in Bengaluru. What is your take on the election results? I don’t think there is much to be said. It has been nothing short of a tidal wave or tsunami. It just washed away everything in sight, and that includes bad politics and good politics. And I think we need to recognise it and first congratulate the BJP-led NDA.…

Voters have given their verdict. BJP has once again made a clean sweep in Bengaluru, repeating the 2009 Parliamentary election pattern. However, there are some differences this time. We take a look at the numbers: Bangalore South Ananth Kumar won the seat for the sixth time comfortably, with a margin of over 2.2 lakhs (56.9% of total polled votes). Nandan Nilekani got a sizeable number of votes (36.4% of the total polled votes), but it wasn’t enough to propel him to victory. The takeaway is this: The competition was fierce and limited to BJP and Congress, with very few votes…

As the city gears up to welcome new Members of Parliament, we take a peek at the statistics and poll predictions to see how has Bangalore voted in the past, and who might win the race in Bangalore this time. Our focus is on the three urban constituencies - Bangalore South, North and Central. 2009 - the honeymoon effect In 2009, the state was being governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the scams hadn’t hit the government yet. Bangalore’s 28 constituencies had 18 BJP MLAs. The sense of euphoria and what the experts call “the honeymoon effect” swept…

The fate of the 140 cases of building violation registered in 2012 with Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) is hanging in balance, awaiting the Supreme Court’s final order. In a press conference held on May 5, 2014 at BBMP head office, BMTF Chief Additional General of Police Rajvir P Sharma told press persons that out of 208 cases registered in 2012, 140 cases of building violations in private properties were put on hold on account of High Court’s order on October 2013 that said the BMTF has no jurisdiction on illegal construction on private properties. HC stated that BMTF can only…

Looking to move into a new house in Bengaluru? Then you need to apply for an electricity connection with BESCOM. This guide will take you through the steps that you need to follow to get a domestic LT connection (applicable for less than 25 KW or less than 500 square metres of built-up area). BESCOM or the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company is in charge of distribution of power to the districts of Bangalore Urban/Rural, Kolar, Tumkur, Ramanagar, Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga and Davanagere. So if you have moved into a new house in any of these areas or you are shifting house, you…

Some areas in Bengaluru faced power cut in the last few days, even when the Energy Department of Karnataka submitted to the High Court that the state has surplus power. However the reason is the pre-monsoon maintenance work being carried out by the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM). KPTCL is carrying out its annual major works around the city. The capital city will continue to have a few power cuts in some areas. Pic for representational purpose only. Courtesy: Reuters In the past eight days, AECS Layout in Whitefield was badly hit by…

Voting percentage for Bangalore was 56.47, 55.7 and 55.69 for Bengaluru North, Central and South respectively, while the state average was 67.28%, in parliamentary elections. What does this project? While everybody is cribbing about Bangalore’s voter percentage and “urban voters’ apathy,” it may not be what it looks like. For example, have you seen anyone around you who did not vote? If not, who are these 44 people out of 100 who did not vote in Bangalore? Don’t you think there is more to the voting percentage story? In 2010, Citizen Matters had written about the reality behind voter turnout…