City: Bengaluru

With the recent High Court order on April 24th that asked the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to constitute ward committees within a month, the decades-long efforts by the State Government and the BBMP to stall their constitution have come to an end. The 74th Constitutional Amendment (CA) or Nagarapalika Act was passed in 1992, exactly 25 years ago, to give “Power to the People” and bring in decentralisation, transparency, accountability and people’s participation in urban local bodies (ULBs). The State’s conformity legislation to implement the 74th CA was passed in 1994 through an amendment to the KMC Act. Formation…

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Children frolic in a garbage truck parked alongside the Munnekolala slum. Pic: Shamala KS Bengaluru is a city bursting at its seams, and the consequences of rapid and untrammelled urbanisation are especially evident near its ephemeral boundaries. Tall condominiums under construction dot the landscape of areas along the eastern peripheries of the city, interspersed with patches of coconut groves that have somehow deferred their inevitable demise. These peri-urban areas which have mushroomed over the last decade, thanks to the city's burgeoning IT sector, are also characterised by a deficiency of public amenities or municipal services; mounds of untreated solid waste…

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People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) published a fact-finding report on Garment Workers' Strike recently. This is the account of what happened on the day protests erupted - excerpt from the fact-finding report: By most accounts, the Garment Workers' Strike of 18th and 19th of April, 2016 started at Shahi Exports and spread from one unit of Shahi Exports to another, and to other manufacturers' units as well. Around 4,500 workers walked out of the Shahi Exports unit in Maddur at around 9.30 am on April 18. Word spread from unit to unit, and workers of Unit 14, Shahi Exports…

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The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) issued a notification in March 2016, mandating apartment complexes with 20 units or more, to install Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and dual-piping with retrospective effect. The absurdity of the notification can be summarised with three ‘I’s – it is illegal, impractical and illogical! Tertiary STP. Pic: Vikas Brahmavar Why is it illegal? Firstly, all the enforcement authorities like Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Ministry of Environment have directed BWSSB to mandate new apartments with 50 units and more to implement STP with prospective effect. But…

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Why are lakes in Bengaluru polluted? Who is accountable? Karnataka government has recently constituted Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) to oversee the lake conservation. But there are many agencies in the city that are supposed to handle specific issues related to pollution.  But there is a problem. With multiple bodies looking after different systems, there is no accountability for any of them. When the crisis hits, they blame each other and get away, while the lakes emit fire and froth. Here is an explanation of which agency is responsible for what problem, as far as a lake is…

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People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Karnataka and Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression Karnataka released their joint fact-finding report on the garment workers strike of April 18 and 19 2016. The report, titled Thread and Tension- an account of the historic uprising of garment workers, was launched jointly by Rangamma from the BBMP Contract Powrakarmika Workers' Union, Bhagya from Garment and Textile Workers' Union (GATWU), Pushpa from the Stree Jaagruti Samiti (Domestic Workers' Rights Union), and Rukmini, an Anganwadi teacher. The report release was preceded by a panel discussion, moderated by Kavita Srinivas of PUCL, where the panelists spoke of…

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Pic: Shree D N The city government, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has put out details of solid waste management (SWM) microplan for Bengaluru’s wards. With this public data, you can understand what is working in garbage collection and clearance and what is not, in your ward, and engage with fellow citizens and officials to resolve it. How to access the information: Go to the homepage of the BBMP website: bbmp.gov.in Choose the language and go to the department section on http://bbmp.gov.in/en/web/guest/home Select the Solid Waste Management section. (ಘನತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯ section if in Kannada) Go to the download section - you…

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There is hope; be a part of the change, to improve your neighbourhood. Pic: Shree D N BBMP elections were held in 2015. It’s been two years since then, and it feels like a long time ago. Perhaps you may have even forgotten who you voted for. It may also feel like your corporator has forgotten you. But the fact is, we still have three years to go for the next BBMP election, and the game is far from over - in fact it has only begun now! BBMP is responsible for many of the things that affect your daily…

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April 24th was the Women's Political Empowerment Day. Is this cause limited to just a day? How do we actually make it happen? This graph shows the representation of women in municipality, assembly and parliament levels, from Bengaluru. What does it tell you? Womens' representation in Parliament, Assembly and BBMP levels in Bengaluru. Graph: Sahana Mohan Think about it - though there are no women MLAs or MPs, there are 101 women corporators in Bengaluru. The number of councillors rose to 101 because BBMP has 50% reservation for women, not because the political and electoral system believed in the cause.…

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