Governance

The webinar was titled “The mysterious process of budget allocations”. The panellists were all people who had for many years studied budgets, the process and its many shortcomings. They could not solve this particular mystery. But all gave very practical steps to give the budget more meaning and substance and make it less mysterious. To me, at the end of the discussion, one thing stood out. The figures all budgets bandy about, in this case especially the thousands of crores supposedly allocated to Bengaluru, mean absolutely nothing. Their yearly presentation is a meaningless ritual that the law demands. My point…

She was about to turn 29 and was an assistant professor, having earned her PhD from the School of Management Studies at the Indira Gandhi National Open University. But like so many of Delhi’s youth, Dr Shelly Oberoi was drawn to the anti-corruption movement started by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal in 2011. “Shelly, like thousands of others her age, converged at the rallies of the anti-corruption movement,” said a functionary of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), attached to the office of Gopal Rai, convenor of the Delhi unit. “She wanted to be part of the change that was going…

As a run-up to the upcoming Assembly Elections in Karnataka, the Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF) has launched a campaign Every Vote Matters (EVM). The campaign will have multiple activities to support member residents in three themes: Voter registration, voter awareness, and voter participation. Historically, it is generally believed that apartments/gated communities are not considered a significant vote bank as very few people register and vote, especially in local or assembly elections. BAF, through its sustained campaign, hopes to change this mindset and establish itself as a vote bank to reckon with. The campaign is expected to reach half a million…

"Last year, we were not able to celebrate Women's Day in the Ward because it was too close to the election results. This year, we have planned to celebrate Women's Day with the conservancy and sanitation workers in the Ward, along with other women," says M Renuka, the Councillor of Ward 42. "We are planning to create awareness about the rights of women," she adds. Renuka is a first-time Councillor. She joined the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 2018. "I used to do field work for the party," she says. "Then, in 2022, the party fielded me as a…

The Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 2022 is a new legislation that could potentially safeguard the interest of apartment owners and improve the administration of common areas and facilities.  It has been stated that every apartment should get registered under the new Act. While the legislation was notified recently, the Government is yet to come out with the rules and regulations for the Act.  Some important considerations of apartment owners must be taken into account and reflected in the rules for the aim of the legislation to be met. Stakeholder inputs on Apartment Ownership Act  While framing the rules under…

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) was passed by the Karnataka Assembly, in December 2022, to unify all public transport under one umbrella. Part 1 looked at the roles and functions of the BMLTA. In Part 2, we will look at several concerns raised over BMLTA's lack of participatory planning and appropriate devolution of power to a lower level. Citizens and urban transport activists had voiced their concerns over passing the Bill. The primary issue was the lack of inclusive decision-making. 74th amendment act In a letter to B. A Basavaraj, Minister of Urban Development Department and B. Sriramulu,…

In his budget speech on February 17th, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that quality of life in Bengaluru would improve “by ensuring seamless mobility, developing roads, prevention of floods by developing storm water drains and designing scientific and efficient waste management systems.” While such physical infrastructure is undoubtedly important for the well-being of a city, social infrastructure such as housing and health are equally crucial for improving the standard of living. In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the gaps in budget allocations to BMTC and education. In Part 2, we will look at how the budget focuses…

Be it laying stormwater drains or carrying out patch work on roads or repair and renovation of civic infrastructure - all such activities by the civic body has to go through a tendering process to select eligible contractors to carry out the work. In the past, the tendering process has come under the scanner due to allegations of corruption and favouritism to certain contractors. Anti-corruption activists, residents and contractors have called for greater transparency in the tendering process to ensure the contracts are awarded to those who are best equipped to carry out the work. Here is a look at…

While roads and related infrastructure were given importance in this year’s state budget, housing, education and health were neglected. With the BBMP budget slated to be announced soon, Citizen Matters Bengaluru, organised a webinar, 'The mysterious process of Bengaluru’s budget allocations', on February 23rd, to raise questions about why some sectors are given preference over others, the source of funds, the format of the expenditure, and more. Citizen Matters hosted a webinar on the dissemination and allocation of state and municipal finance. Pic: Citizen Matters The discussion was anchored by Bhanu Sridharan, and the panellists were Kathyayini Chamaraj, executive trustee…

Books connect readers to voices from the past, from alternative universes, from lives of people we don’t know. Books transport us to unknown worlds, while simultaneously revealing and helping us interpret the realities of our own. Books transform, by making us think, wonder and find our own voices. Public libraries, therefore, can be the centre of such transformation — for both individuals and communities.   Libraries, however, can be more than a repository of books.  During the pandemic and subsequent lock down, community-run free libraries in India educated its members on social distancing and masking, helped them book vaccination appointments, filled…