JOIN USBMLTA: 'Why is Karnataka govt doing local agencies' job?'
The Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike has expressed disappointment with the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Bill, 2022, which was passed by the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
The Vedike, which represents the rights of bus commuters, said the BMLTA was nothing but another state-controlled planning agency for Bengaluru instead of empowering the city government to make its own decisions on mobility.
"This is basically the centralisation of decision-making," said Vedike member Vinay Srinivas. "What is needed instead is political will."
The "most appalling" thing about the bill is that it was passed in the absence of an elected city government, Srinivas said, referring to the BBMP, which has been without an elected council since September 2020.
He also called out the "lack" of public consultation in the run-up to the passage of the bill and the low scope for citizen engagement in how the BMLTA would function.
Talking about the BMTC, the Vedike said there was still a lack of political will and funding for buses.
Bengaluru Mobility, which has been demanding sustainable mobility for Bengaluru, welcomed the passage of the BMTLA Bill but wondered why the state government was "wasting its time on what is essentially the work of the MPC and the BBMP".
It was referring to the Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) and the local civic body.
"Please leave the city's planning, governance and mobility to the city planning authority and the city government," it added.
The group has called for public consultation to empower the BMLTA.
What is BMLTA?
The BMLTA is a unified agency that will regulate the development, operation, maintenance, monitoring and supervision of urban mobility in Bengaluru. The chief minister will be its ex-officio chairperson while the Bengaluru development and transport ministers will be ex-officio vice-chairpersons.
The commissioner of the Department of Urban Land Transport will be its ex-officio member-secretary. There will be 17 ex-officio members and two special invitees.
Outside of the executive and bureaucracy, it will have three experts, two civil society members, three representatives from the private sector and two representatives from academic institutions. It will also have a 16-member executive committee, which will meet every three months.
Put simply, the authority will assess and address policies, programmes and initiatives while planning urban mobility in Bengaluru.