Governance

In the recently undertaken Swacch Survekshan 2017, a cleanliness ranking of cities published by the Ministry of Urban Development of the Government of India, Chennai’s ranking plummeted from 37 in 2016 to 235! Corporation officials have explained this saying that the “independent observation” was done a few days after Cyclone Vardah, which is why there has been a dip in the rankings. However, even if Chennai had scored the same on all parameters as in 2016, our rank would have been 120 for 2017, after Srikakulam (Rank 119, Marks 1198). Moreover, independent observation had a weight of only 25% in the…

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Chennai has had an inordinately long wait for the local body elections this year. Even while the dates are yet to be announced, citizens have woken up to the need of engaging themselves in the process in a proactive manner, ensuring that the people select the right candidates, elect them and hold them accountable so as to have a truly representative and participatory democracy. A group of citizens residing in Zone 13 of the Corporation, covering Wards 170 to 182, have come together under a single umbrella to create an urban ward manifesto, and create interface systems between the ward…

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Water flooded through an open footpath near Shivananda Circle, during the rain that lashed the city in May 3rd week. Pic: Shree D N The heavy rains that lashed Bengaluru in last two weeks caused havoc in the city. The flooded homes, waterlogged streets, uprooted trees, deaths, only reflected the unpreparedness of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to handle the rains. The rain on May 14th claimed the lives of two due to a wall collapse in Johnson Market. The following week, heavy rains flooded several areas including three slum pockets in Bommanahalli. Roads in Hosakerehalli were flooded due to…

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Bellandur residents have had a see-saw of joys and sorrows, good news and bad news. When I moved here two years ago, I’d look out of my window and feast my eyes on that vast peaceful expanse of water, with flocks of white egrets hovering above. Kingfishers, coucals and green barbets visited daily, the water being a magnet for uncommon birds. The setting sun on the water was a sight to behold, peaceful and awe-inspiring. We were privileged to live overlooking this beautiful lake. A scene from Bellandur lake area. Pic: Shikha Balakrishnan Slowly, that feast for our eyes became…

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Today (May 30th) is the last day for citizens owning properties in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits to file their property tax with five per cent tax rebate. But even after two months of BBMP making the property tax payment system open, citizens have continued to complain of issues with tax payment. Earlier this month, one of our readers and property tax expert D R Prakash (who is also the founder-president of Osborne Road Area Residents Welfare Association) wrote an article about the glitches in property tax payment portal. Last week he again wrote an e-mail to Citizen Matters,…

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Coffee: Rs.12, bus fare to the coffee store < 1km away: Rs.5 each way. On a hot day like today, count on us and you won't miss your coffee. — BMTC (@BMTC_Bangalore) May 26, 2017 Finally Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is doing everything it can, to show citizens in Bengaluru that they really care about the city transport. New buses, free wifi in non-AC buses, reduced fare and double-decker buses are only a few of the measures. The recently concluded GovJam event is an example of BMTC’s proactive approach to the citizen participation model that’s becoming popular in Bengaluru.…

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Feel you waste time at bus stops? Plan your trip with our app, you'll get to the stop just on time for your bus https://t.co/IgAjglMCsC pic.twitter.com/Dq1YOtA2R3 — BMTC (@BMTC_Bangalore) May 22, 2017 Thus said Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Company (BMTC), in a recent tweet. The tweet was obviously about the Intelligent Transport System BMTC has developed spending crores of rupees. But does the ITS actually work as it should? The official ITS mobile application was released in May 2016 with much fanfare. The BMTC claimed that the app would help commuters track their buses in real time. Initial reviews by the consumers…

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BBMP's proposal to begin charging people to park on the streets can seem like a long-overdue scheme. But while the principle of charging for public space seems reasonable, we should do more than that. We should set targets for what we hope to achieve by charging parking fees. One direct result will be revenues to the BBMP. Each of the 85 streets on which parking charges will be introduced should produce several lakhs in income to the municipal corporation each month. But are there other results we wish to see? And if yes, can we connect those results too to…

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தமிழக விவசாயிகள் டெல்லியில் போராடிய போது அது குறித்து பாராளுமன்றமும் விவாதிக்கவில்லை, தமிழக சட்டமன்றமோ கூடவே இல்லை. பாராளுமன்றம் தமிழக விவசாய்களின் பிரச்சினை தமிழக சட்டமன்றத்தின் பொறுப்பு என்று அவர்கள் போராட்டத்தைக் கண்டு கொள்ளவில்லை , தமிழக சட்டமன்றமோ விவசாயிகள் டெல்லியில் தானே போராடுகிறார்கள் , அதனால் நமக்கு என்ன என்று இருந்துவிட்டார்கள். நம் கையே நமக்கு உதவி , நம் பிரச்சனைகளை அரசுக்கு வெளிப்படுத்துவதுடன் நின்று விடாது நாமும் நம் பிரச்சினைகள் என்ன,அது எதனால் வந்தது , அதற்கு என்ன தீர்வு என்று ஆராய்ந்து அதற்கான தீர்வுகள் காண வேண்டும் . அதற்கான முதல் முயற்சியாக தமிழகத்தின் பல்வேறு பகுதிகளில் இருந்து வந்த 50-கும் மேற்பட்டோர் 'சட்ட பஞ்சாயத்து இயக்கம்' நடத்திய இளைஞர்களுக்கான 'மாதிரி சட்டமன்றம்' என்ற நிகழ்வில் விவசாயிகளின் பிரச்சனைகள் மற்றும் அதற்கான தீர்வுகள் குறித்தும் பேசியது வரவேற்கபட வேண்டிய ஒன்றாகும். விவசாயிகளின் சிக்கல்கள் மற்றும் செய்யவேண்டிய மாற்றங்கள் குறித்தும் முன்வைக்கப்பட்ட கருத்துக்கள் அரசின் கவனத்திற்கு கொண்டு வர வேண்டும் . அதே நேரத்தில் விவசாய்களும்…

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BBMP likes to create regular, small contracts. This system is informally known as 'hale kallu, hosa billu', and is well understood by all the stakeholders !! Take the example of shoulder drains. To begin with, it is common sense that a drain that collects rain water from the road should be built adjacent to the road and not to the property walls. But what we do is the exact opposite. Thereafter, to connect utilities like water and sewage to the properties, we run pipes across the drains, and these pipes becomes obstacles that collect various things thrown into the drain. As…

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