Is the govt LISTENING?

Is the govt LISTENING?
R Krishnakumar and Sujit John | TNN


Many Bangaloreans feel this lovely city is sinking under the weight of its myriad problems. And that in the past few years, the successive coalition governments — faced with internal contradictions — could do little to get a grip on the situation.
We now have a new government in place. And as it took office, TOI thought this would be a good time to ask Bangaloreans what they feel the government’s priorities should be.
So, over the past 16 days, we ran a series of articles and reader responses that sought to lay down a Citizen Agenda for the government. We had an overwhelming response from experts and readers, many providing very insightful solutions to our problems. Which only strengthened our belief in one of the points we made early in the campaign: that citizens should be involved in the management of the city, that the government doesn’t have all the required expertise and resources to tackle complex issues.
Readers underscored the need for dedicated task forces — comprising of government officials, experts and citizens from different walks of life — for specific problems and for larger urban planning issues that the new, expanded Bangalore faces. It was felt that the link of accountability — that has been largely missing in the administrative process — could also be ensured through such a process.
Though the new state government has not explored the suggested option of having a dedicated minister for Bangalore and has stuck to the trend of having a district in-charge minister, the idea holds good, as reflected in responses from opinionleaders and readers. Ministers, including R Ashok and Suresh Kumar, were seen as favourites by the readers; some of them wanting chief minister B S Yeddyurappa himself handling the Bangalore portfolio.
The readers’ responses to issues pertaining to civic infrastructure and corruption were particularly acerbic. The experts called out for measures like scientific disposal of garbage to ease the city’s drains of their burden. Creation of landfills and better training for the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) engineers were also mooted as measures to plug the holes.
Traffic and transportation, despite a slew of hyped projects announced by the government, continue to be of prime concern for Bangaloreans. During the campaign, the point that came through in a most pronounced fashion was the need for good public transport systems.
Instead of trying to replicate global city examples, the administrators should develop a localised transportation model, the experts said. Better citizen awareness of traffic rules was another point from the wish-list.
The disparities in the city’s healthcare systems, contrasting high-profile super-specialty hospitals with the rundown primary health centres and government hospitals, were in focus during the campaign as well. The message was clear: make quality healthcare affordable. Dissecting the impact of corruption on administration and, in turn, development, the readers were almost unanimous in calling for greater powers for the Lok Ayukta, enabling him to prosecute the corrupt and the erring. The political will to crack down on encroachers of land, better policing models for the city and measures to translocate felled trees to make up for the thinning green cover were all discussed. The campaign on the state of roads in the city had the readers responding with concern over the selection of contractors. Quality standard checks and re-modelling of the drainage systems were underlined.
Mandatory rain water harvesting systems were cited as the way forward in addressing water concerns of the city. Decongestion through satellite townships outside of Bangalore was a model suggested by the experts. But there were also words of caution against the townships ultimately becoming parts of the city.
People power was in focus too, with the campaign showcasing the resident welfare associations and the RTI-armed whistle-blowers who continue to take corruption head-on.
The city’s tourism infrastructure stories revisited the idea of focusing more on the city’s culture and heritage. But then, there was also the contention that the basic infrastructure of Brand Bangalore itself needed a makeover. Perhaps, that went well with the most-voiced take through the campaign: a better city, planned in consultation with its people, with greater political will.