Governance

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” goes a famous quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.  The verse seems to have impacted M S Paoyaola, a 21-year-old social work student from Madras Christian College, who recently went all out to help a physically and mentally unwell woman on the streets, and came back with a rude awakening of realities on the ground in such situations. On January 26th, around 6.30 pm, Paoyaola, a second year student and a resident of St Thomas Mount was passing by Morison Street in Alandur. Noticing a small…

Each year, when the state Budget is presented, the citizens of Namma Bengaluru hope to see things included in it which will alleviate the many challenges we face. And over time, dashed hopes have led to lower expectations. But this year, I'm happy to see something new - for the first time we have promised ourselves a comprehensive approach to problems rather than piece-meal solutions through projects. The decongestion of traffic in the city will require a broad emphasis on all modes, with meaningful investments in sustainable mobility and public transport. The bus fleet needs to be doubled, we'll need…

Data from BBMP shows that Bengaluru’s 198 wards have together contributed Rs 5430 crores as property tax over the last three years. 2016-17: Rs 1743 crores 2017-18: Rs 1761 crores 2018-19: Rs 1926 crores The tax collection by ward varies from one extreme - 282 crores in three years collected by Bellandur, to another - 69 lakhs collected in Chalavadipalya. Bellandur which occupies 3.6% of the area covered by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has collected Rs 103 crores out of Rs 1926 crores, that is more than 5% of the total collection. The top 34 wards have contributed almost…

The 9th Annual Eureka Run sponsored by CanFin Homes is scheduled for 5:45 AM on February 24th, at Elliot’s Beach, Chennai. The run is organized by Aid India, a non-profit working on improvements in learning quality of children in villages. Aid India uses the annual Eureka Run as a platform to create awareness about issues that plague the field of education and its impact on the lives of children in Tamil Nadu. In the 1083 remote villages that it works in, Aid India aims to boost children's confidence by building skills in Spoken English, Mental Maths and Science.  Its unique…

B.PAC submitted its strong objections to BESCOM’s proposal for increase of electricity tariff for FY-19, during the  Public Hearing held at Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) office. T.V. Mohandas Pai, Vice President, B.PAC and Archana M V from B.PAC team made the submissions before the commission today during the public hearing conducted by KERC. Following are the highlights of B.PAC’s submissions: BESCOM prayer for Leave of the Commission The tariff proposal by BESCOM for FY 20 by INR 1.01 / unit has been proposed stating a deficit of INR 2933.82 crs for FY 20. B.PAC’s analysis has shown that this…

The question of whether non resident Indians (NRIs) can play an active role in determining the political leadership of their native country by casting their ballot, and how, has been at the centre of focus on many occasions. The coming elections to the Lok Sabha have created a new flutter over the issue with the looming possibility of NRIs being able to vote through appointed proxies. So, how does the system work at present? And what are the changes being mulled? Here is a quick look at the entire NRI voting process and possibility. According to the provisions of Section…

Flyover repairs and delayed road-widening The Sirsi Circle flyover, constructed in 1999, was the longest flyover then, running 2.91km. It was repaired at a cost of Rs 2.8 crore, four years ago. Now the BBMP is planning to repair it again at a cost of 4.3 crores. The issue is in the longevity of the project. The material used will make the repair last only for four more years. The government’s plan of building elevated corridors has put the road widening plans in Whitefield and Electronics City to a halt. The proposed plan had been to provide an alternative route between…

Shetty (name changed), manager at a Bengaluru apartment, dreaded the RWA meeting where he had to get members’ approval for common area electricity bills. RWA members invariably questioned him on the huge bill amounts, but he was unable to justify the bills or identify measures for saving. The association was also unable to take concerted action, mainly because of the lack of data. Usually the association ended up taking ad hoc steps like installing LED lights, and brushes the issue aside. But the problem is revisited every year, with the same results. Upto a quarter of maintenance charges is for…

'NGT buffer zone will raze 95% of the city' National Green Tribunal's order of adherence to buffer zones for lakes and drains will see 95% of Bengaluru razed, as most buildings are in the vicinity of lakes and tertiary drains, said Uday Holla, Advocate General of Karnataka, in a written submission at the Supreme Court last week. Earlier the Supreme Court had also expressed reservations on the rights of the National Green Tribunal, a statutory body, to change the 30-metre buffer zone around lakes in Bengaluru to 75 metres. Citizen Matters had earlier written about the problem in detail. Source:…

In an attempt to get opinion from Bengaluru bus commuters regarding the State Government’s proposal to hike BMTC bus fares, several concerned individuals and groups held a ‘Post Card Campaign’ at the Shivajinagar Bus Stand, in Bengaluru recently. Addressing the Chief Minister of Karnataka, H. D. Kumaraswamy, the groups spoke up against the disparity in transport planning in Bengaluru city. The groups sought support from commuters by signing on post cards that said, “I heard the government is planning to build Elevated Corridors while spending Rs. 33,000 crores. But, BMTC said they are raising fares since government is not supporting…