A survey on urban governance in Bangalore has revealed that 70 per cent of the respondents felt systems to ensure accountability were inadequate and an even larger majority (76 pc) perceived that projects in the city are plagued by corruption.

At the same time, the respondents have entrusted faith in the democratic system with 71 pc expressing an intent to vote in the forthcoming Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The results of the survey ‘Bangalore-Citizens Perception on Democratic Capital’,conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) which was released on Tuesday covered a sample of 430 respondents across various income groups. Ten councillors of erstwhile BMP were also interviewed.

 An interesting aspect is that 76 pc of the respondents admitted that they showed apathy towards public property and as many as 80 pc accepted that they exhibited disrespect for civic laws and violated them.

Sharing the survey highlights in Bangalore, Mr Vedamoorthy Namasivayam, PWC executive director said, findings had strategic implications in the management of the city’s utilities and municipal body.

“For a city grappling with its growth pangs, it is generally perceived that only infrastructure and service delivery issues define the performance areas for civic agencies.

The report clearly shows that good governance is important for citizens,” Mr Namasivayam said.

The survey also brought to the fore that a majority of the respondents want to have a say in the decision making process in urban governance.

Other key outcomes
* 56 pc are willing to pay higher user charges for higher levels of services.
* 61 pc felt that ward-level information on financial and other aspects of projects were not accessible to citizens.
* 52 pc said officials in government agencies are not accessible to citizens
* 53 pc felt that civic systems did not adequately respond to the needs of the poorest of the population.
* 82 pc felt that government agencies differentiated between rich and poor citizens
* 85 pc endorsed a need for citizens participation in preparation of ward-level plans
* 77 pc supported role of Resident Welfare Association (RWAs) and NGOs in delivery of basic services