Over 2,000 objections ignored in final BBMP delimitation report

Of the 3,833 objections raised against the draft Bengaluru delimitation report, which was published by the Urban Development Department, close to 2,000 have not been considered while preparing the final report, which was published on Thursday.

The move has irked citizens who are disappointed that their concerns have not been addressed. They feel there has been political interference in the preparation of the report.

For instance, the delimitation has split Kasturinagar, which is a BDA layout with close to 5,000 houses, into two parts. While half belongs to CV Raman Nagar, the other half comes under Lal Bahadur Nagar. Though the citizens had raised objections against it, the final report has not considered their request.

“It is evident that the entire process is politically motivated. We had a genuine request and there is no logical ground to reject it. Ours is a BDA layout. Sewage lines, water connections and other basic infrastructure are planned considering the layout as a whole. Now, this division of the layout into two wards will only lead to inter-ward issues where the root cause of a civic issue in one ward will have to be traced to another ward,” explained Venugopal Rai, president of the Kasturinagar Welfare Association. The association had submitted a representation that was signed by 1,500 people.

Ward names

That apart, many of them also complained that their request to change the ward names had gone unheard.

“The town of Kengeri has historical and cultural relevance. Now, they have split the wards into Kengeri and Bandemutt. However, though the name Kengeri continues to remain, officials have failed to understand that the places in Bandemutt represent Kengeri of the old times. Though we gave a detailed representation, nothing has been done,” said B M Shivakumar, a member of the Save Kengeri Campaign.

The scene is no different at Karisandra where the ward has been renamed as Uma Maheshwara ward. “Close to 200 people submitted a representation requesting them to retain the name as Karisandra. Historically, the name dates back to the Vijayanagar empire. The Uma Maheshwari temple is just 20 years old. The officials should understand the importance and decide,” said Dr Puttanna, a resident of Karisandra.

Srinivas Alavilli, head of civic participation, Janaagraha, opined that citizens’ inputs could have been addressed in a better manner.

“I have heard many are unhappy with the final report. We know the government cannot consider all the requests. However, many of them had made conscious efforts to come forward and submit their suggestions. The government should have at least acknowledged their initiative,” Alavilli said.

All objections scrutinised thoroughly: BBMP

Amid allegations, BBMP officials said all the objections were thoroughly scrutinised.

“We have followed the same criteria, which were laid down while preparing the report. There were a few mistakes that were highlighted through the objections and we have rectified them. However, no objection has been rejected without a reason,” said BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath.

Yet another official said that there were illogical objections that had to be rejected.

“For instance, there were several objections saying a hospital or a park that was once in their ward would now fall under another ward and hence, they requested for a change in the ward boundary. Such requests have been rejected,” a senior BBMP official added.