BBMP budget welcomed; transparency concerns remain

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has allocated Rs 60 lakh for each ward to be spent on development works decided by citizens. This has been hailed as an extremely rare institutionalisation of citizens’ participation in the city budget. Each ward will get Rs 20 lakh each for improvements in footpaths, roads and borewells. DH takes a closer look at this pioneering development in the decentralisation of city governance.

Prabhakar Sunder Raj M P, a resident of Vasanth Nagar said: “Development works in each ward of Bengaluru from the funds allocated by BBMP to be decided by citizens is a first of its kind, which has to be welcomed without a second thought.” He added, “It is easy to catch a fish in a tank rather than struggling to trap the fishes in the sea.” He explained that transparency in the projects can be easily ensured by this proposed decentralised move of BBMP. There will be a proper account of the amount spent and the work carried out. “As the activities are confined to a particular ward, there will be better participation of citizens in ensuring the quality of work to be executed.”

“Siphoning of money without work can be curbed to a large extent. With all these positive points things still linger in my mind as to how a citizen can involve without any authority or safety. I hope the BBMP will work out all modalities and issue identification badges to the concerned citizens to vigilantly and fearlessly perform their entrusted work,” he added.

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Libin Thomas, a researcher said, “It definitely is a stepping stone to bridging the gap between bureaucrats and the common man. The needs of citizens are plenty — from improved water supply to ensuring uninterrupted power to every house considering how a large number of people are currently spending a majority of their time at their homes.”

Thomas feels that there should be some sort of transparency and accountability in the spending allocated money. “Considering how we have no idea about what happens to the funds allocated to major projects, decentralisation should be transparent enough for us to believe what it represents — direct benefits to the citizens.”

Ambika Suresh who is staying at JP Nagar said, “For the first time, the BBMP has taken an entirely new and significant step. Since each ward will get Rs 20 lakh for improvements of roads, pavements and borewells it will definitely help citizens. The ward committees which are non-functional can use this opportunity to improve their performance.”

Rashmi who is working as a recruitment consultant said the move is impressive. However, she reiterates “the fear of not getting considerable success for the new initiative due to corruption.”

“If the money is used for the public it would be very much helpful especially since a lot of unfinished roads and poorly done drainage systems will be repaired and a lot of lives will be saved and public health will be on the good track,” she added.

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