FOCAL POINTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

FOCAL POINTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP


Bigger Players, Better Roads
The focus, so far, has been on building new roads while ignoring the importance of enhancing the existing capacity. There has been no maintenance protocol or any agreement that binds the city government to tar all the roads, say, once a year.
The need is to rope in two or three large contractors into the system and put in place an annuity model and concessions of 10 to 25 years. The contractors could be paid an operation and maintenance fee every year, financed from RTOs, motor vehicle tax, property tax or even a cess. The idea is to install a system, where the contractor who does a bad job, loses the job. The selection of the contractors could be done on a global tendering system.
Decentralize, Develop
The city government can confine itself to its capacities as a quality maintenance and regulatory body. The actual work on the ground can be delegated to a dedicated group under one ward engineer, in all the 145 wards in Bangalore.
The group can have officials from all the civic agencies — including the BBMP, BDA, Bescom and BWSSB — working as a team to meet the local needs of the ward. These groups, working as local service centres, will usher in decentralization in governance, in its truest form.
Integration is the key
For a city caught in ad hoc, piecemeal development models, Bangalore has to move towards integration of services across the sectors. The lack of interaction among the city’s stake-holders is the one critical issue that needs immediate redressal.
The effort is on to replicate the idea of an overseeing umbrella organization to helm the development projects in the city, as recommended by the Kasturirangan committee. The organization will ensure that the development plans are integrated and that there are no clash of interests among the civic agencies. For instance, digging work of Namma Metro will not be taken up before arriving at an alternate plan to divert traffic.