BMP move draws flak

INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADATION
BMP move draws flak
Deccan Herald

As the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) continues to wait for a State government exemption from the Transparency Act with regard to work on infrastructure upgradation, a couple of Bangalore civic groups have reacted sharply to the proposal.

“The BMP’s move is contrary to the spirit of the Transparency Act. The existing provision in the Act giving the government powers to exempt certain organisations from its applicability needs to be deleted,” Y G Muralidharan who heads Consumer Rights, Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT) said.

Reacting to the BMP contention that the exemption would help it do away with delay in the tendering procedure, Muralidharan said the need of the hour was to amend the Transparency Act.

“The government should bring changes to the Act to suit specific situations. About the argument of delayed tendering, it’s like saying we can’t do research and ensure safety standards for products because the process takes a long time,” he observed.

‘Not justified’

Meanwhile, the Koramangala Residents Civic Group (KRCG) has also criticised the idea of a blanket exemption for BMP. “The exemption will be illegal and against public interest,” KRCG President S M Jawad said.

“It’s not justified as BMP is fully accountable for all its actions. As per the Transparency Act, the public has the right to information,” KRCG Secretary R Rama Murthi said.

According to BMP Engineer-in-Chief P K Srihari, the BMP had asked for an exemption since it was an “emergency case”.

He added that the Act could not be done away with in its entirety.