By invitation: Fixing namma Bengaluru A lost cause?

The recent deluge has left the city in a mess and made a mockery of  Bengaluru Development Minister, K J George’s claim that it is better prepared than New York to handle the monsoon this year.

As we all know Bengaluru is located at an elevation, and  rain water should in the normal course be able to easily run off its roads. But rampant encroachment of  its lakes and storm water drains has left the city prone to flooding during every spell of heavy  rain. If the government does not wake up to the problem even now,  even a drizzle may cause flooding in future.

Freedom fighter, HS Doreswamy and various lake development organisations recently visited 31 lakes in and around the city and found to their concern that they were all encroached upon. Corruption and the nexus between  politicians, builders and contractors has led to this sorry state of affairs. It is sad that  living water bodies are being killed by dumping of construction debris and other means while the government looks on mutely.

We need to ask why there are no demolitions by the BBMP when it is fully aware of the encroachments on storm water drains and  lakes in the city.  Whenever there is flooding a token demolition drive is carried out and only ordinary people lose their houses. If the property of a prominent  or influential person is involved , the drive stops and never resumes.

The innumerable potholes on the city's roads today are the gift of the rain. Unfortunately, they have claimed the lives of at least four people in recent weeks. The current BBMP commissioner has claimed that it has spent Rs 2,800 crore over the last three years to repair the roads, but the potholes haven’t disappeared although the money is gone. Given their current state, our roads can only be compared with those of sub-Saharan African towns.

Thankfully, people are gradually stepping out and are demonstrating that they have a say in how the city is run. Take the recent protests against the steel flyover. But I think it is high time that  people started making themselves heard on any policy or project that can impact their lives. Bengalureans need to become more active and aim to become ward committee members of their localities. But this may be easier said than done as although over 550 well meaning citizens have applied to become members of these committees around the city, those selected are cronies and relatives of local corporators and contractors. What this means is that although people  are willing to be part of the city’s governance, the administration and corporators are keeping them out.

In my view, there should be a multi-year plan (MYP) for the city, which should be implemented with a detailed feasibility study and trials if we are to look forward to better times ahead.

When anyone asks me if the city has stopped growing I  tell them that it has not as we have space on the outskirts, which can be used for expansion without sacrificing green cover.  Scientific planning can help the city develop more systematically and become a model for others.

But the government , which has recovered 15,000 acres of  the over 27,000 acres encroached upon across Bengaluru urban district, has only chosen to use it to provide housing for the urban poor and ignored infrastructure development. This lopsided approach  sacrifices the needs of the city in the long term and one fears that the housing scheme for the urban poor will only be mismanaged to benefit the vote banks and leave the truly deserving urban poor out in the cold.

The government’s approach to solving the traffic congestion  also doesn’t make sense. It is spending Rs 14,000 crore on the Metro Rail, when by spending just half this amount on the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) it could increase the frequency of bus trips and  provide better connectivity to different parts of the city. Lakhs of commuters would then ditch their private vehicles and start using BMTC buses.

Today around 50 lakh people use the BMTC services every day and only four lakh use the Metro Rail. But the authorities continue on their chosen path, ignoring better solutions that are so apparent to everyone else.