Lack of clarity on Metropolitan Planning Committee

Lack of clarity on Metropolitan Planning Committee
Deccan Herald

The other option would be to give the added responsibility of planning to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) itself,” she said after releasing a study initiated by CIVIC Bangalore on Functioning of Ward Committees in Bangalore.

The feasibility of a Metropolitan Planning Committee in Bangalore needs a thorough study before implementation, Shameem Banu, Principal Secretary- Urban Development said on Saturday. “Frankly, I don’t know how the committee’s profile would be. There seems to be a lack of clarity in this regard. The other option would be to give the added responsibility of planning to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) itself,” she said after releasing a study initiated by CIVIC Bangalore on Functioning of Ward Committees in Bangalore.

Ms Banu said she was apprehensive about the relevance of an additional body with 85-100 members dedicated to planning the City. She called for a study on the potential of the body, the recommendations of which could be explored with the Central Government. She also opposed comparison of urban local governance with the gram sabha model. “Even before the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, gram sabhas were valid units of governance in Karnataka, because the State had already had a strong movement towards rural local governance with many political champions heading it. We need to understand that in comparison, we are trying to create artificial bodies like Ward Committees in the cities, which is a tougher task to take up,” she said. Speaking at the occasion, former BMP Mayor P R Ramesh called for greater execution powers for corporations and urban local bodies.

Ward Committees failing: The study by CIVIC Bangalore- done by Kathyayini Chamaraj and Prasanna Rao- deals with the functioning of ward committees between April 1999 and November 2001, appended by updates on their functioning from 2004 to date. The study notes that despite the 74th Constitutional Amendment (Nagarapalika Act) notifying constitution of Ward Committees in all Municipal Corporations with a three lakh-plus population, the committees were yet to be formed outside Bangalore.

FINDINGS AND PROPOSALS

* Ward Committees rarely meet

* Lack of access to ward-level information

* Political interference and bureaucratic apathy

* Lack of finances

Suggestion

* One WC per ward, against the present one for 3-4 wards norm

* Sub-committees with more people’s representation

* Bottom-up planning, implementation and monitoring

* One-third reservation for women in ward committees