Greater Bangalore: Public views to be sought

Greater Bangalore: Public views to be sought
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Vice-Chairman of the Planning Board of Karnataka Dr A Ravindra on Friday said that the draft rules of the proposed ‘Greater Bangalore’ would be made available to the public in order to incorporate their views before finalising it.

Participating in a discussion on ‘Greater Bangalore’ conducted by Mahithi Hakku Adhyayana Kendra here, he said that there was a lot of apprehension among the people regarding merging of CMCs and TMC surrounding Bangalore with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP).

But the public will be given a chance to reciprocate to the provisions of amendments made to Greater Bangalore.

He also advocated a need for creating awareness about the project. “Though this was not a new concept, there was need for greater awareness,” he said.

Though there are questions about the credibility of the body and issues with management, it will be sorted out gradually, said Ravindra.

Ravindra said that more professionals with technical expertise were required in order to manage a metropolis and to tackle the issues, under ‘Greater Bangalore’ project.

He said that the creation of Greater Bangalore will avoid the confusion of belonging to different urban bodies and will bring whole of Bangalore including CMCs under a single elected body.

Besides, it would also help address the issues of the City. Traffic, transportation, water, electricity and land price were some of the issues that need to be tackled in both urban and rural Bangalore apart from environmental and economic challenges, he said.

Calling for a better coordination at the administrative level, he said, “responsibilities should be allotted at subdivision levels, the revenue should be utilised for upgradation of underdeveloped and neglected areas and people should be provided with good quality of life through decentralisation,” said Ravindra.