The recently passed BBMP Bill has increased the term of the Bengaluru Mayor from one year to 30 months. For years, citizens and civic activists have been demanding a full-term, directly elected Mayor to make visible, impactful changes to the city.
Will the change help in better coordination and action on the ground? DH takes the opinion of a cross-section of Bengalureans on the extension of the term of the city Mayor.
Gayathri H S, a resident of Koramangala has this to say: “I used to wonder why the Bengaluru Mayor has only a year’s tenure while the corporators are elected for five years. I feel this extended tenure will help the Mayor do more work for the city, coordinating well with all the stakeholders involved.”
She feels this is one of the best reforms for the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in a long time. “The extended Mayoral term will help in the overall development of the city. One year was too short a time to make any visible impact.”
Rajesh Venugopalan, who resides in Marathahalli area, reiterates that the move to increase the Mayoral term is a positive reform. “The 30 months will give time for better planning and implementation of civic projects. Hopefully, it will also help promote better accountability of the projects undertaken,” he feels.
“We often see that projects are left in the lurch and there is no one to take any responsibility. By the time citizens can follow up on the issues concerned, the Mayor has already moved out and a new Mayor is still getting used to the office,” Venugopalan elaborates.
Abirami, a senior revenue cycle specialist and a resident of Mahalakshmi Layout, notes: “The BBMP legislation has rightly included the proposal to increase the tenure of the Mayor. This will help the Mayor to ensure better governance of the city across the different zones. The tenure change will mean the number of Mayors will come down from five to two over a period of five years.”
On the other reforms in the legislation, she says: “Citizens can now approach the zonal commissioners to sort out any issues in the locality. Being a citizen of Bengaluru I welcome these changes as it creates a better environment.”
Kiran Jeevan, a public relations officer at St Joseph’s College, says: “The role of the Mayor is important for the growth and development of the city. The BBMP Bill passed to increase the term of the Mayor is a welcome move.”
Jeevan suggests that at least a minimum of four years should have been allotted for the Mayor. With the increased time, he is sure that BBMP can involve the Mayor in more sustainable projects and will also help to accomplish long term goals under a longer term leadership.
“There can also be a great scope for community partnership programmes that enables citizens to be actively involved in making ‘namma’ city the best,” he adds.
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