City for ABIDe change

City for ABIDe change
BENGALURU







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Since Greater Bengaluru has been formed by merging seven city municipal councils, one town municipal council and 110 villages, there is a need for better laws to administer a larger area. Greater Bengaluru can be developed faster if the mayor is given a free hand and five years of uninterrupted power. — N. Indira Former corporator The Chief Minister is the chairman of bodies like the metropolitan council and so there is not likely to be any opposition to the government’s moves. The planning process is also not likely to improve. A provision should be made for community participation in city planning. Suggestions, if rejected, should be justified. — N. S. Mukunda chairman, Citizen Action Forum Soon the KMC Act of 1976 will be scrapped and the new Act will give Bengaluru a new mayor, besides comprehensive development projects for the city, says Chandrashekar G.
City governance could be in for a big makeover if the Bengaluru Region Governance Bill 2009 passes through the legislature and becomes law.

Drawn up by the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure Development (ABIDe), an initiative of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, to plan for the development of Bengaluru, the draft Bill has several components that could make far reaching changes to the way the city is governed. Once the Bill is approved the Bengaluru Region Governance Act 2009 will replace the Karnataka Municipal Council Act 1976 for the city.

After the new law becomes operative, the city could see a mayor holding a five year term and a council of corporators serving it for the same period.

There will also be direct elections for the mayor.

There could be a local planning authority for the city and the metropoli tan region. As ABIDe focuses on citizen centric governance, it has suggested there be comprehensive development and co-ordinated execution of projects for the city. Says convenor of ABIDe, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, “ABIDe has proposed cre ation of a mechanism for land bank management and a central database which will form the basis for planning in the city.

ABIDe’s blueprints are meant to bring Bengaluru’s glory back and this Bill is important for the implementation of plans for the city.” He recalls that in its Bengaluru Vision 2020 ABIDe has emphasised on the growth of Bengaluru, focusing on making the city more secure, on citizen centric governance, on better roads, traffic management and transportation and improving the quality of life of the urban poor.

The new law will govern 800 sq. kms of the Bruhat Bengaluru Area (BB) and 8,000 sq kms of the Bengaluru Metro Region Area (BMR). All other corporations in Karnataka will follow the KMC Act.

standing bodies Standing committees for taxation and finance, public health, town planning and improvement, public works, accounts, education and social justice, appeals and horticulture and marketing. The number of people of the standing committees will be decided later.

neighbourhood area committee The state government shall by order determine the neighbourhood areas into which each ward shall be divided. The territorial extent of each area shall include the entire geographical territory in which all persons mentioned in the electoral rolls of any polling booth in such territory, or, if the government so decides, two or more contiguous polling booths in such territory, are ordinarily resident. The neighbourhood area committee shall consist of a convener elected in accordance with the law.

declaration of assets Every mayor, councillor or convener shall, not later than one month after the commencement of his term of office and in the same month of each succeeding year, file a declaration of all assets owned by him and members of his family.

Such declaration shall form part of the corporation records. The declaration by the councillor or convener shall be filed with the mayor and the declaration by the mayor shall be filed with the authority designated by the government.

land register The corporation shall maintain a detailed land asset register of all corporation property and all properties owned by the government, within the territorial jurisdiction of the corporation. The corporation should update the land asset register on an annual basis.