Dig deep, CM! Give us our city back!

On March 15, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will present his fifth budget. The city was allocated Rs 7,000 crore in 2016, but where has all this money gone? Our lakes are still in pathetic condition, potholes continue to claim lives, traffic bottlenecks are getting worse and the garbage mafia still rules. With the elections round the corner, Budget 2017 is the Siddaramaiah government’s last chance to redeem itself. With political equations shifting rapidly, Bengaluru is unlikely to settle for mere populism and empty promises.

A member of 15- member Bengaluru Vision Group constituted by the state government to set a development agenda for the city, Mr V Ravichandran is clear it needs to buck up and deliver if it means to return for another term following the 2018  assembly poll.

"What we saw in the Uttar Pradesh election was that a government has to ultimately deliver on development in the manner desired by the people and not rely merely on populist policies,” he points out.

Recalling that Karnataka's Budget for 2016-17  made a big provision for Bengaluru's development , allocating funds to everything from elevated roads to affordable housing, he says the people need to know how the government has delivered on these promises.

As for the coming Budget, he says people are expecting solutions to the many problems dogging the city such as garbage, traffic and rising  pollution. "With elections round the corner, Karnataka cannot afford to merely announce populist policies. It needs to focus on visible projects like adding more buses to the BMTC fleet, giving impetus to the suburban rail project, which has pending for many years and curbing pollution levels in the city. Only this will pay dividends,” he stresses.

With the garbage crisis refusing to go away, the government, he believes, should announce plans to improve segregation of waste at source, set up procuring centres, and  new garbage contracts. Also lake restoration has to be given priority  considering the water crisis that regularly visits the city, particularly in summer, he says.  

Mr Ravichandran thinks the government could lose out if it does not respond to the people's concerns about women's safety in the city.  "After the  manner in which women were treated on the city’s streets on New Year’s eve,  people are expecting a big announcement to help  improve public safety," he adds.

‘Where did Rs 100 cr for commuter rail go?’ - N.S. Mukunda - Member, Citizens' Action Forum

With a water crisis staring at Bengaluru, funds must be allocated for rejuvenation of its lakes. Seeing that the storage of the Cauvery dams is precariously low, this  is the right time to attempt this.

Also, with the state  reeling under a severe drought  mainly because of its shrinking forest cover, it would be great if the government announced afforestation schemes in the Budget.

Although the previous Budget had allocated Rs100 crore for the commuter rail system, the project has not taken off yet as the state has not received the necessary support from the Centre and railways.

But as it is important for the city, it could receive a big allocation this Budget too. As for public transport, the BMTC needs to add 2,000 more buses to its fleet for the people’s convenience and the government should exempt it from paying any taxes to help it reduce its fares.

Coming to horticulture, Karnataka is way ahead of other states in this area and I hope this year’s Budget helps it sustain this. More farmers should be encouraged to grow fruit like mangoes, pomegranates, sapota, oranges and pineapple as unlike paddy and sugarcane they are not water intensive and are cash yielding.

Take pomegranate. An acre of this fruit fetches around Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. The government should also make the dream of affordable housing a reality for the urban poor  by providing them land free of cost.

‘Increase per capita spend on healthcare’ - Harish Bijoor - Brand Guru & Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.

I hope  Karnataka ups its spending on health-care as its per capita  expenditure on this front is the poorest in the south of the country. While we spend Rs 731 per capita on health, Kerala spends a more robust Rs 1057. We need to get at least where Kerala is.

Let's remember there are two kinds of economies: One, where we get wealthy first and healthy later and the other, where we get healthy first and wealthy later. I hope we attempt the latter for the sake of all the state’s people, as opposed to only catering to the rich and the mighty.

The 2017-18 budget will be watched very keenly by the farmers of the state as suicides among them  have averaged possibly five a day over the last one year. Added to this were the early problems of demonetisation.

And to top it all, the state is staring at another drought year. As these are tough times for  Karnataka’s farmers I expect a fair bit of action to  alleviate their stress.

Bus bhagya beku! - Srinivas Alavilli - Coordinator for Citizens for Bengaluru.

When Bengaluru is today stuck in traffic chaos and gasping for breath, the coming Budget offers a great chance for redemption . Our city now has over 13 lakh cars and 43 lakh two wheelers, but only 6100 buses.

To rectify things we request the Chief minister to come out with a ‘Bus Bhagya’  this Budget. This will mean cutting the bus fares by half and doubling the number of buses on the city's roads.

Today, our bus fares are the highest in the country and lakhs of ordinary men and women cannot afford them. But all over the world, public transport is subsidised because it is a service that eases congestion and improves air quality. The course of our city can be changed if the Budget comes out with a scheme like this.

Moreover, unlike any other intervention by  the Chief Minister, "Bus Bhagya" could bring immediate relief to 50 lakh passengers that use  buses every day.  It  will also encourage more people to use buses and the Chief Minister will be remembered for making a bold decision to fight traffic and pollution.

Also, there are so many areas that have no access to buses and their frequency too is not good enough. We thank the state for granting funds for the suburban train . The railways must stick to their commitment and we citizens must hold them accountable.

Q & A
‘UP a lesson, appeasing castes won’t help’

What are your major expectations from the coming state Budget?
Last year the city was allocated Rs 7,000 crore. But not all of this money was spent as the detailed project reports were not ready for many projects. This year too, we are expecting more or less the same allocation for the city.

With the state going to elections next year, do you think this year's Budget will be loaded with populist policies?
I don’t think the government will announce anything big for Bengaluru as it has only 28 assembly constituencies. But it may come up with populist policies to woo voters. Seeing the Uttar Pradesh election results, the government should realise that populist policies and sops don’t fetch anything.

The Budget is expected to promote infrastructure development in the city. What should be the government's priorities on this front?
The Peripheral Ring Road is a significant project, which has not made any headway. Also, the alternative roads leading to the Kempegowda International Airport are not in good shape.

Big allocations are expected for this. This apart, lakes like Bellandur, Varthur and Yellammappachetty need to be developed at a cost of Rs 500 crore and their water supplied for industrial purposes. Significant allocation has to be made to develop foothpaths too. I have conveyed all this to the Chief Minister for his consideration.