Governance

The stage is set.December 2009: A 100 people ask to Empower Lokayukta and remove Section 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act.March 2010: Bangalore records <40% voting in the BBMP elections. None of the citizen candidates win.December 2010: 900 people join the Corruption Saaku! rally on UN Anti Corruption Day. Saaku! was the top trending topic on Twitter.Jan 2011: 300 people gather on MG Road in a nation wide protest seeking People's Lokpal, later rechristened Jan LokpalApril 2011: India Against Corruption's first fast at Freedom Park. There were more police than people. On day 2, there were only 7 people on…

Bengaluru has already lost thousands of acres of land to encroachers. But if you know about a case of encroachment, there are many government bodies where you can complain. Here is a list of whom you can contact, and how. 1) BMTF (Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force): The state government had formed BMTF in 1996 to check land grabs and building violations in Bangalore Metropolitan Area (BMA). BMA includes Bangalore urban and rural districts, and part of Kolar district. All encroachments of government land/water bodies in these areas - even those that come under BBMP, BDA, BWSSB etc - will be…

Every year, the state AG (Accountant General) prepares audit reports on state government and some of its agencies. This year's reports were presented on February 14th in the Karnataka legislative assembly. The same evening, CAG held a press conference to distribute the reports.There are five reports this time. As usual, the reports are full of CAG's exposes, all leading to loss of hundreds of crores of rupees. The reports come in a study bag, overall weighing somewhere around 7-8 kgs. A bagfull of exposes, you might call it. The CAG's bag, full of exposes. Pic: Subramaniam Vincent. Except two smaller…

Ever since the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) started functioning more actively, especially after current chief Rajvir Sharma took over, the state government has been at loggerheads with it. Its latest attempt to cut down BMTF's powers has gone awry, and has become another embarrassment for the government. BMTF is a police force which can investigate grabbing of public land, and building violations, in Bangalore Metropolitan Area. It can book cases against government officers who abet such crimes. It can also file criminal cases on associated crimes, like document fabrication. On February 2nd, Karnataka's Urban Development Department (UDD) issued an…

Parks are for public use and cannot be given to private parties. But in 2005, BDA gave away 1525 sq m of park site to Indiranagar Club. This was one of the examples of illegalities by the BDA, in a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).The site, located along 7th cross road of HAL 2nd stage layout, was adjoining the club, and is now within club premises. BDA gave the site on lease, on the condition that it will be maintained as a park, and that no permanent structures will be put up in the site. But…

The recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has exposed that Manyata Tech Park in Hebbal had illegally grabbed majority of its land. The tech park is a mixed development project spread across about 300 acres. Of this, over 160 acres was public land which Manyata Developers got from different government agencies, though there was no provision for this.  Manyata Developers is a real estate company based in Bangalore, headed by Reddy Veeranna. Manyata tech park has commercial spaces including a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and mixed residential development. Manyata tech park is spread across 300 acres in…

On Saturday, February 9th, as a group of people from vastly different sections of society came together to lead a march from Austin Town to the Ejipura EWS demolition site, with an intent to express solidarity with the displaced, they came up against the indifference of the state and the brutality of the police.It has been close to a month now since the day that 5000 people from over 1200 dwellings lost their shelters, livelihoods and any semblance of stability in their lives that they might have had. 9th of February, protestors were stopped before they reached Ejipura, which led…

In a democracy, the minimum that we should be able to expect is HOLDING ELECTIONS ON TIME. But it seems now that even this basic threshold is not guaranteed in Karnataka. Yesterday, the legislature passed a law - with all parties agreeing - that the State Election Commission cannot schedule elections to local bodies (like BBMP and other city governments) without its 'consent'. I.e. if the state government feels the time is not right for holding elections, that's the way it will be. The Election Commission of India controls only Parliament and Assembly elections, and those are constitutionally anchored. Elections…

What was pathetic about the state budget presented last week, was not so much the populism it was based on - that was expected - as was the reactions to it from various sections, including politicians of parties other than the BJP.The budget is meant as an exercise to allocate public money for the betterment of the people - with the emphasis categorically on "betterment of the people". It is NOT money available to the ruling party, for announcing measures that would enhance its prospects in the next elections. That perspective has, alas, been completely lost sight of, by every…

India has not been familiar with political action committees of the kind that are common across the United States, but an initiative by corporate heavyweights and prominent members of civil society in Bangalore could well change that. On Sunday, the 3rd of February, the city took its first step towards active urban citizen engagement in the the electoral process with the launch of the Bangalore Political Action Committee or BPAC.Established with the broader aim of promoting a better quality of life for all citizens of the metropolis, BPAC will  seek to identify and support strong candidates - irrespective of their…