Not passing people's muster

Bangaloreans are not even aware of the details of the JnNURM infrastructure projects, let alone being asked to give their opinions

That’s because the citizens’ aspirations or needs don’t really matter to them. For bureaucrats, what matters the most is pleasing their bosses and creating documents to ensure their projects are completed on paper.

The stakeholders — the residents of Bangalore — have had no say whatsoever in any of the projects that have come up in recent years. They are clueless about the ongoing works and those that are to take shape under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission (JnNURM) in the near future. All worth crores of rupees.

There is no structured community participation in the planning of any infrastructure project in the City. For example, when the BBMP began chopping down trees to facilitate the work on the CNR Rao Circle near Sadashivanagar police station, scientist Rao himself was appalled at the development. Ironically, it was while he was planting saplings on the IISc campus that he learnt that the Palike had begun axing several trees.

The Forest department, of course, stated that it would plant 400 saplings in the area to compensate for the 120 trees. But the point is, Prof Rao, after whom the circle is named, never knew that scores of trees would be sacrificed. This only reflects the level of transparency maintained by the implementing agency.

Hubert, the then deputy conservator of forest, had admitted that the BBMP had received objections to the felling of so many trees. But nobody, including probably Prof Rao, is aware even today of the nature of objections raised by the people!

Advertising the details of a project in the media is a mere formality, because public feedback is not taken into account. No government agency conducts public hearing in the true sense or gives wide publicity in the popular media regarding details of major projects.

The BBMP argues that all details of all the projects taken up under the JnNURM have been hosted on its website. The details available are skimpy. Take the example of the CNR Rao Circle. The website offers details of the project cost - Rs 22.60 crore. Beyond that, there’s nothing. There is no option on the website for receiving or hosting public feedback. So, even netizens can’t offer their opinions. The argument put forth by the BBMP is that when there are elected representatives, one cannot say the Palike has not been taking the citizens’ opinions into consideration in City planning. The fact is that when the JnNURM funds began flowing into the BBMP, the BDA and the BMTC, the elected body was about to complete its term in 2006. The corporators had some basic information about JnNURM in the form of a booklet. There were also a couple of public presentations by the BBMP about the projects. But there was no debate or dialogue among the implementing agencies such as the BBMP, the BDA and the BMTC or the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), the State-level nodal agency to implement JnNURM-funded projects.

The City did not have corporators from 2006 to April 2010. After the new body came into existence, the council has not devoted much time discussing the projects funded by JnNURM.

It is impractical to hold a public debate on every issue or project. But when crores of rupees are spent on a project, if not a debate, there should be at least a free flow of information to the people. Even that is lacking, making people doubt the intentions of the people involved in the execution of civic works. The lacuna is also delaying the implementation of development works with residents’ associations engaging in a tussle with civic agencies, as is the case of the Sadashivanagar road widening project. Till today, the BDA, the executor of the project, has not made available details of the project in public domain.

Reforms not in place
The aim of JnNURM is to set in motion reforms in urban governance. The prescribed 35 reforms at the State level, implementation and review of works should be done simultaneously to improve infrastructure in urban areas. The reforms help in making civic bodies adopt transparency in their work and also be accountable to the people.
One of the major reforms yet to be achieved is bringing the BDA, BWSSB, BMRDA, the Fire Force and other agencies under the purview of the BBMP for better planning and co-ordination in the interests of the City.

There has been an inordinate delay in the introduction of the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Governance Bill, which will facilitate an integrated approach to the City’s planning by widening the scope of the BBMP. Once the legislation is in place, metropolitan planning committees will have to be set up. The bill is still in the draft stage. Official sources say none of the government  agencies wants to give up its authority and function under the BBMP, and hence the delay.

Another reform that has been implemented half-heartedly is the enactment of the Community Participation (CP) Bill. In order to meet the mandate, the government enacted the legislation in February this year, but it is not designed on the Model Nagara Raj Bill of the JnNURM, which allows citizens’ participation in local body governance.

The government amended the Karnataka Municipal Act (KMC) to enact the CP Bill. As per the model bill, each ward should be divided into areas comprising a polling area of a few contiguous polling stations. Registered voters in the area should be members of the Area Sabha (AS) and elect their Area Sabha Representatives (ASR), who in turn should be members of the ward committee.

In the watered-down bill of the State, the ladder from the Area Sabha to Ward Sabha or the committee headed by a corporator is missing. Instead of voters electing their representatives, who should be on the ward committee, the area corporator is authorised to nominate the members. This is not in the spirit of the 74th amendment to the Constitution, which aims at decentralising administration.

Why is the nomination culture encouraged? Law Minister Suresh Kumar says the KMC Act was amended after much discussion in the Legislative Assembly. “It was a unanimous decision of the House. The system we have adopted helps a councillor/corporator function smoothly. There should be no conflict between the ward panel members and its head,” he argues.

Where are City Volunteer Technical Corps?

One of the reforms that has not been implemented is setting up of City Volunteer Technical Corps (CVTCs). On March 29, 2010, the Union Ministry of Urban Development directed all states to set up CVTCs to co-ordinate with the urban local bodies.

The formation of panels in seven disciplines each, with five members, helps in transparency and accountability to citizens in the implementation of JnNURM. The panels on urban engineering, urban planning, urban poverty, urban governance, urban financial services, etc, are basically to enhance community participation and facilitate disclosure of programmes to the public under JnNURM. Subject experts from various fields, besides civil society, should be on the panel.

The BBMP has just begun the process of formation of the panels by issuing a notification.
Another reform, which is yet to be implemented, is the reduction in stamp duty to five per cent in 2011-12. The stamp duty has been six per cent since 2009-11 and no reduction was made in 2010-11. In addition, the BBMP is yet to apply its mind to implement two more reforms — providing basic amenities to urban poor and adopting e-governance.
The State, by and large, has not implemented any of the prescribed reforms. The penalty comes in the form of slashing funds for the implementing states. The State’s quota has come down by 10 per cent — Rs 185 crore — of the total Government of India share of Rs 1,141 crore (including funds for the Mysore City projects).

K R Niranjan, Special Commissioner, Projects, BBMP, admits that the State would have been in a better position to seek funds for future projects as well as the ongoing projects had there been better implementation of the projects already approved.

The model Nagara Raj Bill is as important as the Jan Lokpal Bill. States should adopt the model bill without diluting it.

Ramesh Ramanathan,
National Technical Advisor, JnNURM

BBMP is maintaining transparency of projects. The reforms are on.
Recovering encroached BBMP land has delayed remodelling of stormwater drains, but the works are on.

K R Niranjan,
Special Commissioner, BBMP (Projects)

Usually drafts of the project details are made available to the people. There should be transparency in govt works. The Metro work signals the changes taking place in the City. 

Dr A Ravindra,
Advisor to CM on Urban Affairs

In 2006, BBMP had made a presentation to the public in Jayanagar on JnNURM. But there was no consultation as such. People have been totally sidelined by decision makers, and it is evident in the case of the Tagore Circle.

N Mukund,
Joint Secretary, Joint Citizens Action Forum