Bengaluru: What ails urban governance

Task forces, citizens’ interventions, piecemeal reforms have all failed to ensure a minimum quality of living. The city needs systemic overhaul

On September 10, Deccan Herald carried two editorials pertaining to Bengaluru, rather unusual, though they dealt with different aspects of the city. One related to Bengaluru being the ‘linguistic capital’ of the country, apart from being the IT capital, and the other to the sorry state of roads in the city, some of them having turned into death traps -- causing the death of an elderly person in a pothole-related accident. These two scenarios represent the two faces of Karnataka’s capital -- the beautiful and the ugly, the global and the local. This duality has always puzzled both the city’s natives and its immigrants.

When the city’s name was changed from Bangalore to Bengaluru, the late U R Ananthamurthy, at whose suggestion the change occurred, recalls that one of the many callers who questioned him, asked: “Don’t you think Bangalore will lose out on all the economic gains that come with it by changing the ‘brand name’?” To which Ananthamurthy replied: “Why don’t we look at it in a slightly different way? Bangalore became a ‘brand’ because of its great weather. But because it is a ‘brand’, the weather went bad. Now, we have so many people, so many cars, and so much dust and smoke that we can hardly breathe.” This, in a subtle way, sums up the underlying cause of the transformation of Bengaluru from a ‘garden city’ with salubrious climate to a ‘software city’ whose hardware of infrastructure has gone awry.

An analysis of 2011 Census data revealed that 107 scheduled and non-scheduled languages are spoken in Bengaluru, the most number for any Indian city. The city is verily a babble of tongues. Visit any marketplace or café or higher education institution and you can find tongues wagging in a variety of languages, Indian and foreign, with people from all parts of India and several Afro-Asian countries. Over the years, the social structure of Bengaluru has exhibited a unique cosmopolitanism with a range of linguistic, religious and geographic segments making their presence felt. A majority of the city’s population – 55% -- speak languages other than Kannada. Perhaps Bengaluru is the only metropolis in India where you can listen to both Carnatic and Hindustani style performances at a music concert or witness different forms of dance performances -- from Bharata Natyam and Mohiniattam to Kuchipudi and Kathakali, among others.

To the cultural diversity, add the tag of global technology hub, start-up capital, pleasant weather and a people-friendly place, and you get a picture of an ideal city. That’s where the physicality of the city intrudes, and you wake up to the hard reality of what moving around in this city means -- be it on foot or on wheels. Some basic amenities for a minimal good quality of living -- walkable pavements, motorable roads, accessible and equitable public transport, regular supply of water and power, good sanitation, and the luxury of pure air have continued to elude us. And, of course, the herculean task of dealing with the civic authorities and the government can leave you frustrated, robbing you of all the other pleasures the city has to offer.

And that gives rise to the billion-dollar question, what exactly ails the ‘governance’ of our city? Is it lack of resources or lack of capacity on the part of the institutions that govern the metropolis or lack of planning and coordination among the multiple agencies? It may be a sum of all these. A number of expert committees have given their well-considered recommendations on all these matters, task forces have tried mending the fault lines, chief ministers, along with ministers and a retinue of officials, have undertaken ‘inspections’ of the city and set deadlines for completion of tasks, people’s associations have filed PILs and gone on protest marches. Yet, potholes continue to jolt you, power interruptions damage your gadgets, water shortages make you miserable, traffic snarls keep irritating you and, worst of all, the agencies responsible for delivering the services keep passing the buck when things go wrong. So, there is hardly any accountability.

What then is the remedy for this poor governance? In my view, there are three fundamental challenges to be tackled.

Political economy: Urban political economy in general, and of Bengaluru in particular, is the root cause of many of the ills that plague our cities. Urban resources, especially urban land, have become the prime source of political exploitation. Chief Minister Bommai, addressing senior police officers, advised them to keep away from real estate and other lobbies. It would be in the fitness of things if he could extend this exhortation to the political class -- his ministers, legislators and municipal councilors, who need to set examples. He must also find ways to stop political interference in civic administration, which is different from intervention for the right cause.

Leadership: This is closely related to political economy, which tends to concentrate the city’s power at the state level. Lack of city leadership has been a major lacuna in urban governance in India. The absence of a clear vision and formulation of well-thought-out policies has led to ad hoc decision-making that suits the interests of the powers that be. If the Mayor has to perform the function of a leader, he must be vested with necessary authority and made accountable to the people. Decisive leadership can facilitate enforcement of accountability, both political and administrative, so vital for achieving desired results.

Systemic reforms: Bengaluru has been growing and changing rapidly, but the city governance system has been, by and large, stagnant, and in a moribund state, as it were. Some piecemeal reforms, like a new BBMP Act, will not make much of a difference. What is needed is big-ticket reform encompassing the political, administrative, planning, financial and technology systems, with due regard to the spirit of decentralisation envisaged in the 74th Amendment to the Constitution. Perhaps the most difficult task is dealing with the elephant in the room which refuses to budge -- corruption eating into the vitals of city agencies, costing the city and citizens dear.

These reforms are imperative and cannot wait. Should we allow the beautiful face of Bengaluru to be marred by forces of unbridled power, selfishness and greed or find ways to transform governance in a manner that will enhance its beauty? Let’s hope the chief minister, who has shown signs of being well-intentioned and eager for change, will make a wise choice.

(The writer is a former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka)