No objections to proposal on Greater Bangalore

No objections to proposal on Greater Bangalore

The Hindu

Many responses are in the form of suggestions

# The last date for filing objections is December 2
# Suggestions to be incorporated in the final notification

BANGALORE: No significant objections have so far been raised against the State Government's Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) proposal.

In the last 18 days after the Government issued the notification on BBMP inviting objections and suggestions from citizens, there have been 16 responses. The last date for filing objections and suggestions is December 2.

Although several non-governmental organisations and individuals had expressed reservations against the BBMP proposal, none has so far come forward with a formal objection.

Suggestions

More than 12 of the 16 responses are in the form of suggestions and not objections. "Who does not want his area to be included into the city limits? The State Government's decision to form BBMP is a welcome move. I suggest the Government should adopt good governance measures to administer Greater Bangalore." This is one of the suggestions received by Deputy Commissioner (Urban) M.A. Sadiq.

The State Government had announced that people could send suggestions and objections to the proposal of forming BBMP to the Deputy Commissioner (Urban) within 30 days of the November 2 notification. A special official has been deployed specifically for receiving the objections and suggestions from people at the Deputy Commissioner's office.

Mr Sadiq told The Hindu on Monday that there have been no significant objections to the project from citizens so far. "We have received 16 responses so far and most of them are in the form of suggestions. We have forwarded all of them to the State Government," he said.

These responses include two suggestions made by social and cultural organisations. Two responses have also been received through e-mail.

"Most of these responses include suggestions on regular water supply, better infrastructure and other basic amenities. People are more bothered about improvement in their living conditions and are sending suggestions basically on this aspect," Mr Sadiq said.

`Move welcomed'

A top official in the Urban Development Department revealed that the question of whether there is a need to form Greater Bangalore or not is a thing of the past now. "The very fact that there are no objections to the project so far is an indication that people have welcomed the move. All suggestions made by citizens will be incorporated into the final notification after mature deliberations," the official said.

Recently, the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), an organisation working to improve the quality of governance in the country, had suggested a three-tier structure with the BBMP as the main supervising authority.

Several residents' welfare associations had also objected to the idea of having a single corporation to manage the entire BBMP. "It is surprising that these people have not sent their opinions in the form of objections," the official added.