×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

'Congress may be buying time to boost image ahead of Palike polls'

Ex-IAS officers see politics behind BBMP dissolution; predict fund release by govt
Last Updated 18 April 2015, 19:42 IST

Two former IAS officers have said the ruling Congress party is trying its best to buy time to conduct the elections to the BBMP, because it wants to improve its image in the capital.

Former BBMP special commissioner K R Niranjan and former commissioner of BBMP S Subramanya both said the ruling party may try its best to pump in money for improving the city and thus try to win the confidence of the people.

But Niranjan does not see merit in dissolving an elected body like the BBMP council when it would have completed its term in the next four days.

“An elected body (State government) has done away with the Palike council, an elected body. In a democratic set-up, such developments are not good. This gives room for doubt regarding the intentions of the government. There seems to be a political agenda to dissolve the Palike.”

Niranjan, while seeing no merit in trifurcating the Palike, said this would again create confusion for the people. There are eight BBMP zones in the City. The same could be strengthened by appointing senior KAS officers. The work of the Palike should be decentralised to ensure that people need not walk up to the head office to get their work done, he said.

Tough to understand
He said when the Palike became ‘Bruhat,’ people found it tough to understand the new system. It took not less than a year to get used to it. If the Palike is trifurcated, again people will find it tough to get used to a new system. This confusion can be totally avoided by making the present system work, he said. The dissolution may not make much of a difference as the council’s term was to end on April 22. But the intention of the government is questionable, he said.

Former BBMP commissioner Subramanya said the government may allot more and more funds to the Palike to see that there is semblance of governance.

“It may be trying to improve its image by attending to solid waste management, improving roads, etc. It may take some months for image building,” he said.

“The Palike was in the BJP’s hold. It is but natural for the Congress government to work and take credit before facing the elections. The government will try to create an alternative leadership for the next few months. But the court has already directed the government to hold elections. Much depends on how the court views the government decision on Monday, when the case comes up for hearing,” the former bureaucrat said.
Decision making.

He said that instead of the standing committees, now all decisions will be taken by the administrator.

A bureaucrat is answerable to the government rather than people. It is easy for the people to reach out to the corporators than officials, he pointed out, explaining the merits of having an elected body in a democracy.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 18 April 2015, 19:42 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT