DK Shivakumar
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Industry leaders criticised Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's statement that companies cannot blackmail the government over infrastructure issues, and that Bengaluru has provided a conducive ecosystem and massive opportunities.
The comments followed logistics platform BlackBuck's decision to partially move operations from the Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing traffic problems.
Mohandas Pai, former Infosys CFO, termed the minister's remark "in bad taste".
"He is our minister. It is our job as citizens to demand as per the city's requirements, and it is his job to make sure the needs are met. The government does not exist without the public. It is the ministers' job to pay attention to the public's grievances and not be dismissive," he told DH.
Pai proposed a high-level committee "headed by the chief secretary, along with a few additional chief secretaries, and a few experts who are in the know about urban mobility, like Naresh Venkataraman and RK Mishra". He said this committee could work with Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief M Maheshwar Rao and his five commissioners to rejuvenate the city within four to five weeks.
Pai stressed the need for short-term solutions.
"The top brass of the state government, like the Deputy Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary, need to be involved in the nitty-gritty of the matter. Because they delegate the work to low-ranking officials and there is a lack of strong follow-up, there is a lack of accountability and growing corruption," he added.
Shivakumar announced November-end as the deadline to fix all pothole issues.
Prashanth Prakash, partner at Accel, believes the government should "look beyond filling potholes".
"Bengaluru's rapid growth required strategic planning and different levels of infrastructure that we have unfortunately not implemented. And a part of Bengaluru, like the East, that contributes heavily to the state, has received the least funding. Namma Metro in this part of the city should have been prioritised; the government still has the opportunity to accelerate the project," he said.
Harish Bijoor, founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, stressed the need to "demagnetise the city".
"We cannot afford to have this kind of concentration of businesses in spaces that just cannot afford them. However, at this time, I do see some hope in the fact that we have five Bengaluru corporations and five city commissioners under the GBA. Even so, it is the work ethos of sorting things out that needs to bite our people," he said, highlighting the ever-increasing Congestion Index of Bengaluru.