Bengaluru unbound: City to throb with 5 hearts

Bengaluru: After about eight months and myriad  deliberations, the (former chief secretary) B. S. Patil committee Bengaluru submitted its final report to the Chief Minister on Monday on the restructuring of Bengaluru. The report consists of eight chapters  emphasising the three-tier system and have pointed out certain nuances.

The committee has stressed on Greater Bengaluru Authority or Council (GBA) and has suggested three tiers set up for holistic administration. It has also defined the powers and responsibilities of the mayor and standing committees. The GBA helps adequate and organized mobilization and management of funds.

An apex body at the tier 1 – the Greater Bangalore Authority/ Council will deal with the functions of Local Planning Autho rity, infrastructure development, integration of para-statal agencies, economic development and others.

At tier 2 - the committee has proposed five Municipal Corporations. It would have 400 wards and five mayors with five year terms, unlike the usual one-year term. This is aimed at result- oriented development and responsibility with transparency.

Finally, tier 3 - citizens have been given a chance to voice their aspirations. Ward committees members will be directly elected and empowered to choose what their want in their neighbourhood.

The report  pointed out that the zonal level officers lack powers, lack transparency, and that there are planning deficiencies for local planning areas. The report points out that there is absolutely no transparency about where the money is spent. Also, that there is no MIS system in place and senior officers are severely handicapped in taking decisions. A Fund Based Accounting System implemented in 2003 which had these features was circumvented and allowed to lapse.
 
No audit

More shockingly, the Central Accounts Office of BBMP was not part of the limited functionality, computerised accounting system in place at the Zonal level. So with no financial audit for over four years and poor internal records, it is near- impossible to know the true state of affairs at the Corporation.

Financial devolution to the ward is pathetic. Currently wards are given either Rs. 2 crores or Rs. 3 crores annually as a ward budget. This has no sound economic basis.

Furthermore, the one area where the ward corporator can be in control of their revenue resources is property tax collections. It is desirable to incentivise the ward to enhance their property tax collection. The Proposed Greater Bengaluru Finance Commission aims at better financial devolution to the ward on fair, equitable principles.
 
MPC

The report also stresses on Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) which is is a 74th Amendment mandatory requirement. Bengaluru needs a planning body that looks out for development activities on its outskirts and helps accommodate them elsewhere to reduce the burden on the city.

Techie behind the map

The contribution of Abhinay Dronavally, a techie, for restructuring of Bengaluru into five parts is immense. A 24-year-old data professional, he became the tech backbone of the entire exercise. Besides building a website for the committee, he also created a web-based application based on city data. The data and suggestions sent by over a thousand citizens were used as a drawing board by the experts to arrive at the best governance structure for the city. Abhinay's first task was to deal with an entire Geographic Information System database of about 2 gigabytes, which he condensed to just 10 megabytes without losing its quality.

Why five mayors, five corporations?

In an attempt to ensure holistic growth and development of brand Bengaluru, the restructuring committee headed by B. S. Patil has emerged with the idea of forming five municipal corporations represented by five mayors.

It favoured a directly elected mayor at the time of corporation elections. Keeping in mind the challenges of managing the council if a mayor is from a different political party than the majority party, the committee has suggested that this could be overcome by greater acceptability. Reducing the number of Standing Committees to three, with their role focused on framing rules and policies is another prime aspect.

The report pointed at ineffective governance, poor public participation, trust deficit, planning deficiencies for the local planning areas. The expert committee has focused on systemic remedies to these infirmities to make it a livable global city in the world. The committee argued for a ‘watch dog’ mechanism as custodian of citizens’ interests.

A striking suggestion is setting up of a Greater Bengaluru Finance Commission and the municipal council- empowered Greater Benga luru Services Ombudsman to redress citizens’ grievances related to service delivery failure of civic agencies.

Features of Greater Bengaluru Finance Commission include: recommending measures to augment financial resources of agencies in the GBA jurisdiction through tax and non-tax revenues, including GBA itself, its constituent municipalities and other para-statal agencies.

Further, it is suggested that a proportion of the property tax should be retained at ward level for ward projects.  It will also review the financial position and financial performance of the GBA and  its constituents and make recommendations on measures  to improve financial sustainability.

Role of Ombudsman

Greater Bengaluru Services Ombudsman, will be along the lines of the office of the Local Government Ombudsman in the United Kingdom. The Greater Bengaluru Services Ombudsman is expected to redress citizens’ grievances related to service delivery failure of civic agencies and not corruption or financial irregularities.

Services Ombuds man can be a single member body with a five-year tenure appointed by a committee consisting of Chief Minister, Speaker and Opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly. An Ombudsman shall be a retired person of repute and shall have experience in civil services or public or municipal administration or management sector.

Kempegowda ‘Towers’ over restructuring

With special emphasis on the four towers erected by the founder of Bengaluru, Kempegowda, the report suggests that each corporation will have one of the four Kempegowda towers. The fifth one will be Yelahanka, where it holds significance. Kempegowda ruled and left behind a rich legacy.

What next?

With the submission of the B. S. Patil committee report, now the focus has shifted to the Select Committee headed by IT minister S. R. Patil. The B. S. Patil committee made a presentation on their report to the select committee members. The select committee which has been talking about trifurcation would incorporate the necessary suggestions and would place their comprehensive report in the session.

BJP could oppose report

However, there has been joint opposition by both BJP and JD(S) for restructuring or trifurcation of Bengaluru. Sources say that the BJP would oppose the report and the same would fall flat at the Governor’s office when sent for approval.

Greater Bengaluru Authority

• Planning functions will encompass Strategic Visioning for the City's unified future, land use plans, mobility, infrastructure, economic development plans
• Mega Infrastructure projects that span the city like arterial roads, storm water drains, flyovers, bus rapid transit systems
• Para-statal integration is a key activity and there is a need to align the functioning of these bodies in line with the requirements of the city in a ‘Principal-Client’ manner.
• While BDA and BWSSB can report to the GBA, the other para-statal corporation entities need to work in tandem with the overall goals of the GBA, Municipal Corporations
• Mobility plans and outcomes for the city including integrating the activities of the multiple mobility para-statals, the Muni cipal Corporations and the Traffic police