Corporate lessons for transparency

Corporate lessons for transparency
Deccan Herald

How about a quarterly financial report from Bangalore’s local body very like the quarterly reports of its famous corporate entities? That, and polling booth-level area sabhas -- as platforms for citizens’ participation in the governance of the City -- are to expected to be a reality four years from now.

A State-level empowered committee headed by the chief secretary is expected to meet over the next week to discuss the same and a host of other urban governance issues, official sources told Deccan Herald on Thursday.

These issues are among the reforms the State Government has committed itself to in a Memorandum of Agreement it has signed with the Centre early last month. The MoA, which is a requirement under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, also has the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike as a signatory. It has formalised Bangalore’s eligibility for Central aid available under JN-NURM. Pieces of legislations such as the Public Disclosure Law and the Community Participation Law are among the seven mandatory reforms expected of the State governments of mission cities as per the guidelines governing JN-NURM.

Clause overlaps

Sources noted that since Karnataka already had a legislation on fiscal responsibility in the form of the Karnataka Local Fund Authorities Fiscal Responsibility Act 2003, the empowered committee will be sorting out the overlapping clauses in it and the said two envisaged legislations. A citizen’s say in budgeting for a local body is already ensured under the existing Act; two rounds of public discussions are held before preparing a budget for an urban local body, observed sources.

While signing the MoA, the Karnataka government has reportedly told the Centre that it will make the laws on public disclosure and community participation effective during the fourth year (2009) of the mission. (JN-NURM, the seven-year programme involving 63 cities, was launched in December 2005).

It was noted that the empowered committee was constituted recently and it is apart from the Chief Minister-level steering committee that is part of the JN-NURM structure. Senior officials of departments of Urban Development and Finance and the BMP are among the members of the committee, sources said.

‘SHOW ENOUGH ZEAL AND BENEFIT’

National Technical Adviser for JN-NURM Ramesh Ramanathan feels Bangalore has much to benefit if Karnataka can display a strong commitment to the reforms envisaged under the mission.

Speaking during a discussion at Deccan Herald office on Thursday, Mr Ramanathan noted that while signing the Memorandum of Agreement on JN-NURM early last month Karnataka “had difficulty” in committing to reforms in urban planning and citizen participation.

Transparency and progress in project implementation will decide the speed of fund flow from the Centre, he said. Mr Ramanathan, however, noted that Karnataka is not alone in having issues while committing itself to reforms. Orissa and Tamil Nadu governments too have reservations with regard to urban planning issues concerning their respective cities (Bubhaneshwar and Chennai), he said.