What citizens’ manifestos seek

They list out Bengaluru problems they expect their representatives to fix

As the Assembly elections draw near, citizen groups and advocacy organisations in Bengaluru are ready with lists of what they want from the leaders they elect.

Bangalore Apartment’s Federation

The 2023 charter spans property ownership and management, compliances, services from parastatals, environmental safeguards, public infrastructure, local governance and civic engagement. “Our demands are not limited to apartments, but also non-apartment dwellers, informal workers and the city at large,” says general secretary Vikram Rai.

Implement the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972 to ensure that the whole property (apartment, land, etc) is conveyed to the group of owners.

Real Estate Regulatory Authority should transfer properties only after the Occupancy Certificate (OC) is issued.

Withdraw notification making STPs (sewage treatment plants) in apartments mandatory; incentivise apartments who already have.

Ensure timely municipal elections, and constitution of ward committees.

Formal integration of RWAs as key stakeholders of the ward.

More last-mile public transport in outer Bengaluru.

Remove GST for maintenance charges of residential complexes.

Million Voter Rising, Mahadevapura

According to member Ajit Sequeira, Mahadevapura has a key role to make India a $5 trillion economy but unresolved civic and systemic issues are crippling it. Decentralisation is their ask because some wards here are bigger than 20 sq km.

Constitute a separate Mahadevapura municipal corporation.

Get the new municipality to create smaller wards (25,000 population max).

Ensure accountability and representation in ward committees.

Crack down on corruption as unplanned growth has led to encroachment and flooding, and scarce housing, water supply and healthcare.

Koramangala RWAs

Their manifesto is geared towards making Koramangala a model locality, says former president of Koramangala 3rd Block RWA.

Complete infra projects without delay: Ejipura flyover (to link east and south Bengaluru), Ejipura-Sarjapur Link road (to commute from Domlur/Indiranagar), Mestrikere lake development, and metro line.

Governance: Regulate commercial establishments on residential streets. Review BBMP, BWSSB, Bescom and the police and penalise or transfer those who underperform.

For BBMP: Build walkable and disabled-friendly footpaths, maintain trees and five junctions, install gas lines across Koramangala.

For Bescom: Provide 24/7 power, move electrical cables underground.

Improve signal systems, and eliminate bottlenecks to manage traffic.

Take steps for flood mitigation.

JP Nagar 24th Main RWA

Their charter of 13 demands is not new. “We’ve been asking for these since 2019,” says Anand Mangalam, a representative of the group of close to 30,000 residents. A few demands like building footpaths and railings were met but the work has been shoddy.

Road widening next to the Big Market is pending since 2019.

Need feeder buses between 24th Main and J P Nagar Metro station.

Fix incompetent tile work and defective railings.

Increase the capacity of pipes to carry sanitary water.

Desilt rajakaluve: work pending since September 2022.

Finish asphalting before the monsoon.

Organisation for Rare Diseases India

Rare or orphan diseases affect one in 1,000 or 2,500, majorly children, 50% of whom die by the age of one. Most diseases are incurable and require lifelong treatment, exorbitant funds and institutional support. “This is our first manifesto because we did not have a National Policy for Rare Diseases until 2021, and health is a state subject,” says cofounder Prasanna Kumar Shirol. Karnataka is the first Indian state to start treatment of rare disease patients, at Bengaluru’s Indira Gandhi Institute Of Child Health.

Implement state rare disease policy fully with genetic counselling, newborn screening, prenatal tests.

Enact orphan drug development policy, invite biotech firms to state.

Conduct prevalence study for genetic conditions.

Provide pensions for rare disease patients, and an allowance for caregivers.

Cyclists

Bengaluru bicycle mayor Sathya Sankaran says infrastructure for cycling is poor. Cyclists’ demands:

2,000 km-cycle lane in Bengaluru; 4,000 km across Karnataka.

Rs 40,000 crore for cycle lanes and footpaths.

Safe parking for cyclists at public transport hubs.

Citizens for Sankey

The collective sprang up to oppose the felling of heritage trees to build the Sankey Road flyover, a project now on hold. Cofounder Preeti Sunderajan says members have distilled their learnings into a climate action manifesto.

Provide robust public transport, improve walkability.

Prioritise environment, clean air and health in all governance decisions.

Develop and empower model wards.

Improve coordination between MLA, citizens and civic bodies.

Greenpeace India

Rohin Kumar, senior agricultural campaigner at the Bengaluru-headquartered NGO, says while Karnataka is the first state to distribute millets through Public Distribution System (PDS), its overall consumption is still small. The UN is celebrating 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

Include millet-based foods in school midday meals.

Empower women self-help groups to set up millet processing units and supply chains.

Promote diverse indigenous millets at food festivals and restaurants.

Millet is climate resilient, so increase farmer incentive from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per hectare, introduce minimum support price, and encourage organic farming.