Exclusive civic body for outskirts favoured

Exclusive civic body for outskirts favoured

The Hindu

BANGALORE: Greater Bangalore could end up as an unwieldy entity guzzling scant resources and creating greater chaos. The State Government must consider the Mumbai model of administering two city corporations, legislators, former Mayors and former ministers from the city said here on Wednesday. The Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had convened a meeting on Wednesday to elicit the views of elected representatives, councillors and MPs on the Government's "in-principle" approval for the creation of the Greater Bangalore Corporation, merging the eight urban local bodies and the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.

The former minister V. Somanna, who has held the Bangalore Development portfolio, said the plan was fraught with a multitude of problems an area twice the size of the city would be instantly added to the main entity. Water, civic amenities, infrastructure, schools and other facilities would have to be delivered in threefold.

"How will you assess and allocate government land and other assets for use? Have you anticipated the challenges in demarcating new wards and what are the yardsticks that you will apply while addressing these questions?" he asked.

Pressure

Mr. Somanna said there would be tremendous pressure on the Government to supply water — Cauvery projects have their limitations, and it was no longer possible to depend on Thippagondanahalli reservoir. There was no talk of an old proposal to draw water from the Cauvery Sangam at Mekedaatu, he said.

The huge workforce in the existing urban local bodies, sanitation and waste management needed to be clearly addressed. Mr. Somanna said the committee being set up look into the feasibility of Greater Bangalore should include experts and people with real solutions and not end up as a group of political lobbyists.

The former Mayor and Basavanagudi MLA K. Chandrashekar said problems in the heart of the city were different from those on the outskirts. The BMP took 10 years to bring cohesion and seamless management of its work in traffic management, infrastructure, storm water drains, sanitation and the new body would need at least five years to become self-sustaining.

He said instead of Greater Bangalore, there must be two or three corporations for better administration and regulation of administration and finance management.

The former minister and Varthur MLA A. Krishnappa said financial crunch, and resource mobilisation and solving the land encroachment problems could slow down Greater Bangalore.

A. Ravindra, Chairman of the State Planning Board, suggested creation of a single authority, like Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, for policy-making and easing the civic body into playing its role.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said all suggestions would be considered while creating Greater Bangalore, and he would soon call a meeting of prominent senior citizens and former mayors to take the dialogue further.

He invited citizens to contribute ideas to the debate by sending him mails and the Janata Darshan was another forum through which people could reach him on this subject, he said.

"I assure all of you that any decision on Greater Bangalore will be useful and in the interest of the people," Mr. Kumaraswamy said.