Governance

In July'09, one year before former BBMP Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena left to head the BDA, he issued an order to shutdown the Technical Vigilance Cell (TVC) call centre. The centre was available for citizens in Bengaluru to blow the whistle on illegally constructed buildings (also called plan sanction violations, in government parlance).  BBMP went ahead and shut it down. [Click on Image to enlarge]. Former BBMP Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena’s order stating that the call centre will be shut down on July 12th 2009. This week, Meena denied issuing the order itself and claimed the call centre was functioning…

The arrest of Katta Jagadish Naidu, ward councillor from Vasanthnagar, by the Lokayukta last week is a milestone; some years from now we will look back on this as a key moment in the emergence of a new politics in the city. Already one other corporator is in the dock on similar grounds, but that was - fortunately for him - before the Lokayukta acquired new biceps. Katta Jr. faces an altogether different challenge. The politics of the city and the state have revolved around 'land' and its development for many years now. Mining, akrama, notification and denotification - these…

Ahead of the judgement at the Lucknow High Court, regarding disputed property in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), steps have been taken here in Bengaluru to keep a check on the law and order situation. While the state government has declared that schools and colleges will not function for two days, September 30th and October 1st, many private companies have chosen either declare a holiday or work half-day. Prohibitory orders have been clamped on the city, with effect from 6 am today till 6 am on October 3rd. This means public functions cannot be held and groups of five or more people…

A complaint regarding tampered water meter has arisen in Jayanagar 4th T block. David S R, a resident of the area, noticed the issue of steep hike in his BWSSB's water bill around three years back. "The bill would come to Rs.4000 a month sometimes. Whenever I visited the local BWSSB office, I would be sent back saying that the case would be investigated, but nothing was done", he said. The Water Meter. Pic: David S R. During David's many visits over the past few years, he alleges that the officials not only demanded bribes, but also said that the…

According to BBMP's second quarter status report for JNNURM projects, 2009-10, the sanctioned cost was Rs 24.86 crores, with BBMP putting up 50% of the funds. The tender was awarded in March 2008, with the project scheduled to complete in January 2009 as per the Detailed Project Report. In the same report, BBMP gives reason for delay as:  "Sital conditions (faced hard rock which has to be blasted), traffic diversion are the reasons for delay. And another major problem is land acquisition." The Deccan Herald reported on September 13th about the Kadirenahalli underpass getting ready to be opened. It said…

Most of us are so self-centred, we take all the people providing us various services, for granted. One such group is the group of Pourakarmikas or municipal sweepers. Think what would happen if these people went on strike! Think of the garbage that many citizens throw on the road, into empty sites and at corners of pavements. Non-segregated, stinking garbage. Plastic bags torn up by street dogs and garbage strewn all over. Yet, we do not spare a thought for these poor workers performing a thankless task, and often abuse them. In an effort to sensitise the next generation to…

On September 7th 2010,  the Bangalore Mirror reported BDA Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena as saying that gated communities are illegal. Meena was reported saying every layout is required to earmark space for parks, roads and areas of common use. "When roads and parks inside the community are controlled by civic authorities, how can such layouts be called gated communities?" Meena is reported to have asked. Ashok Haranahalli, Advocate General of Karnataka Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal. In May 2008, the BBMP issued a public notice with regard to barricading layouts and preventing use by general public. The notice says that there is…

The following are the phone numbers of BBMP control rooms across their zonal offices. BBMP Control Room Phone Numbers by Citizen Matters ⊕

Here's a complete list of the names and contact numbers of your ward corporators. Source: www.bbmp.gov.in Names and Phone Numbers of 198 BBMP Corporators 2010 The following is a list of the names and postal addresses of the 198 ward corporators in Kannada. Source: www.bbmp.gov.in Names and Postal Addresses of 198 BBMP Corporators 2010 - In Kannada ⊕

The BBMP has approved a budget of Rs 8848 crores for 2010-11. Additionally each of the 198 corporators have also been given Rs 2 crores (old wards) and Rs 3 crores (new wards). But after complaints from several corporators about the ward grants being insufficient, separate grants have been allocated for each ward to undertake special works and build ward offices. These are the grants in the budget which can directly be used by a corporator to decide on projects. This also gives a chance for citizens to interact with their corporator to prioritise what works need to be carried…