A pragmatic eye on solutions

A new government invariably begins its new reign with an intent to do a lot. Fixing Bengaluru’s civic woes will need patience but can be done if there is political will, administrative action and citizen support. Some pointers:

Designing for the vulnerable: A good planning framework should be based on vulnerability. If a city works for the most vulnerable in each situation, it will automatically work for the more fortunate. On city roads, it would be the pedestrian, the cyclists and hawkers. On transport, it would be the bus commuter. On flooding, those residing in low-lying areas which also included the rich and privileged class as we saw last year. On health, it would be villagers around landfills, those around storm water drains that still carry sewage and those without access to primary health. Overall, the budget priorities must be framed around those most impacted in a sector.

Distributed projects: Employment generation and infrastructure creation should be managed through strategic, spatially distributed projects across the city. This will satisfy the political class’s desire for visible projects while the execution of such projects with urgency and regular monitoring will bring in a host of benefits in terms of jobs, water, electricity, housing, transport and connectivity.

Coordination: Governance reforms draw a yawn from the powers that be. A mechanism to coordinate and integrate the various civic agencies at the city apex level and at the lower ward areas will yield significant dividends. Deep decentralisation and appropriate centralisation based on the subsidiarity principle and activity mapping should be the new mantra.

Implementation: Speed and quality are key. The old model of Mohenjo Daro-type endless excavations across the city needs to give way to synchronised start and end of open heart surgeries on our roads. The city projects need to be ring-fenced against systemic corruption.

Finally, cross-pollination with civil society, private and public is more likely to help address the city’s problems. Is the new government ready to think out of the box and act differently?

(The author was a part of the expert committee on BBMP Restructuring)