Of clogged drains and namesake roads

TIMES CAMPAIGN — CMC REPORT CARD
Of clogged drains and namesake roads
The Times of India

Bangalore: Thespian Waheeda Rehman owns a huge estate at Bommanahalli CMC, visits and stays there often.
IT captain Azim Premji resides on the banks of Bellandur lake in Mahadevapura CMC.

Villas, a la Australian style are the rage in CMC Mahadevapura; Satya Sai Baba practically lives at Whitefield whenever he comes avisiting.

But except on arterial junctions, where are the roads? Mostly agricultural land, no drainage system, absolutely no civic amenities, infrastructure... what’s that? A trite scenario typical of any of the seven CMCs in the city. Wait till you step into the municipal office for a pleasant surprise. Swanky well-maintained interiors, nifty council halls for the 30-odd councillors (the counterparts of city corporators), there’s Geographical Information System mapping for the wards too.

It’s a thin unasphalted line dividing the CMCs from the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) limits. At any of the seven CMCs at the periphery of the city, one could be mistaken for getting a distinctly rural feel. The swanky municipality office, reassures it still is Bangalore.

A consensus of CMC commissioners is that people settled at such areas do so not for luxuries and a good quality of life but because sites are available for less, betterment charges are low. Says Bommanhalli CMC commissioner Uday Shankar: “This place is a cluster of villages. Seven panchayats have been included to make one nagarasabha, so it will have the characteristics of a village panchayat.’’ This is further reiterated by CMC Mahadevapura commissioner Chikka Venkatappa: “If you come here asking for a Sadashivnagar, it is not possible.’’

All the seven CMCs — Bommanahalli, Yelahanka, Byatarayanpura, Mahadevapura, K.R. Puram, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Dasarahalli — were formed eight years ago prior to which these fringe areas were called ‘notified areas.’ While starting life afresh by forming a Council (as opposed to the gram panchayat politics), nominating and electing councillors, all the CMCs stumbled along slowly. Till a Lok Ayukta raid three years ago, stepped up the functioning of these municipalities. Ten officers were suspended. And councillors say, there have not been problems since then.

With budgetary outlays approximating Rs 30 crore, ward strength of 30, the demographics of any CMC has statistics like — 20 per cent slum population, 40 per cent middle class, 60 per cent affluent classes including a large chunk of IAS officers.

If the Rajarajeshwarinagar CMC office resembles a swanky software interior or the Mahadevapura CMC office has state-of-the-art plushness (like a BangaloreOne centre), just why are the exteriors unasphalted, clog-drained, sewage ridden et al?

Ask the CMC chiefs and fingers are always pointed at the government for not releasing adequate funds. But what about official apathy in the CMCs? Any answers?