OUR CITY’S GETTING BIGGER

OUR CITY’S GETTING BIGGER
Bangalore is in for a huge civic change. The contours of the city are all set to increase from the existing 225 sq km to 500 sq km; wards could well go up to 140 from the current 100. Municipal polls 2006 will galvanise all this.
The Times of India

Before the year ends, the civic fortunes of Silicon City will get a complete makeover. Bangalore goes to its municipal polls in November.

And change is imminent — the current 100 wards could increase to anywhere from 120 to 130 wards as a fall-out of the delimitation process. All in a matter of five more months when the BMP Council completes its five-year tenure.

WARD-WISE: There were 63 wards till 1995. That year, 27 areas were brought under the BMP fold and the ward count jumped to the century mark. These wards were revenue pockets that had come up in the CMC areas — predominantly nonconverted agricultural lands. However, during 2001, there was no change in the number of wards.

With the change in government, people at the helm of affairs have been mooting new concepts for the expansion of Bangalore — be it the oft-talked about merger of CMCs and TMC with the BMP or the latest proposed formation of two more city corporations. These have remained only in the realm of speculation.

WHAT IS DELIMITATION: It’s redefining the constituencies given the increase in population, reshuffling of pockets having unequal population. For instance, Uttarahalli assembly segment, the largest constituency in India, has a population of 15 lakh while there are constituencies within Bangalore which have barely 80,000 people. Delimitation is the process of fixing boundaries of territorial constituencies. Apart from population, the other criteria are: geographical features, better connectivity, means of communication, public convenience, areas divided by rivers, hilly ranges, forests and ravines.

CHANGES IN THE PIPELINE: Seventeen districts of Karnataka will see their boundaries redrawn. Of these 13 districts will lose a few assembly segments while four districts will have new constituencies added to them. Bangalore Urban district is likely to get 12 additional assembly constituencies; from the current 16 seats to 28.

The third delimitation exercise in India was set in motion based on 2001 census figures and being carried out by the Delimitation Commission of India headed by Justice Kuldip Singh with 10 associate members representing each state.

Also, there is a possible birth of new assembly and Parliament segments in Bangalore. While Bangalore Central is being discussed as a new parliamentary segment having seven assembly constituencies, other proposed constituencies are Byatarayanapura, Malur, Kengeri, Kadogondanahalli, Mahadevapura and Sadashivanagar.

The exercise is being carried out based on the division of voter population - 2.1 lakh to 2.3 lakh per assembly and 25,000 to 30,000 in wards. Because of the discrepancies in these numbers and mismatch between population and funds allocated, the composition of wards in the city has often been termed unscientific by urban planners. This could change circa November.

AFTER THE MERGER: Once new areas come into the BMP fold, the authorities collect a onetime betterment/improvement charge which is Rs 100 per sq yard; property tax and issue khata to the property owners and legitimise the properties. In future, these wards will be manned by the BMP in terms of providing infrastructure, collecting taxes, etc.

However, a visit to the 27 new wards shows that 11 years after these wards were brought under the BMP fold, there is no visible development though property taxes are collected promptly. Only a year ago, these areas were provided with Cauvery drinking water and underground drainage facilities. Though a major chunk of money is always earmarked in the BMP annual budget towards development of these wards, the work remains largely on paper.
According to the preliminary concept plan, the government is working towards dividing the city into three corporations — Greater Bangalore Corporation, Bangalore North Corporation and Bangalore South Corporation. Each corporation will have urban local bodies merged with it in tandem with the increased assembly segments. While the Greater Bangalore Corporation, which in all probability will be 142 wards, the Bangalore South and North Corporations will have 60 wards each. If this proposal becomes a reality, the city of 225 sq km will expand to about 500 sq km.

RESERVATION: By August, the government will come out with the roster for each of the wards. The categories are general, backward class, woman, SC/ST. The majority of the wards will come under general followed by woman and backward class categories.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU: If you as a citizen of Bangalore are peeved by any problems of infrastructure, believe that the current corporator is not delivering, then it’s time to choose a new head. There could possibly be some meritorious candidates in the fray. Make sure you vote!