What do civil society apartments in Bengaluru want?

Last weekend one had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion among the major political parties in Bengaluru about the key demands of the Bengaluru Apartments Federation (BAF).
What do civil society apartments in Bengaluru want?

Last weekend one had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion among the major political parties in Bengaluru about the key demands of the Bengaluru Apartments Federation (BAF). The first striking thing was that all the four candidates came on time for the discussion. It gave one an idea that we need to find ways and means to keep leaders in perpetual candidate mode – there is something about becoming an MLA that makes them take the populace for granted!

Another notable aspect of groups like BAF is that new formations along shared interests (apartments, local neighbourhood welfare associations) are taking place. In an ideal world where the leadership is fair in its treatment of different groups, there would be no need to form pressure groups to get the government to do the right thing for them.  

Four key aspects were discussed. One, whether apartment dwellers are being discriminated vis-a-vis individual houses. Secondly, how did the candidates propose to address the issue of higher water (three times over individual houses) and electricity tariff (where STP and fire equipments are installed) for apartments. Thirdly, the government (BWSSB) has fallen short of its promise to provide water and sanitation connections and there is a reluctance to use older STP and UGD assets. So, they asked, why should apartments be forced to pitch in where the government has failed.

Lastly, apartments are expected to manage their own garbage as bulk consumers. Shouldn’t government waive cesses and incentivise apartments that exhibit sustainable development practices in water and waste management?

The panel discussion among the four party representatives was very civilized. Interestingly, the panel stayed on the subject and more importantly made firm commitments. Overall, the mood of the group was that there should be no discrimination between apartments and individual houses. The water tariff issue it was felt could be fixed by factoring in the number of dwelling units in the apartments. One other misconception dispelled by the group was that, it’s wrong to assume that apartment dwellers are rich folks who need to be penalised.

The key takeaway from the event was that, it was possible to have an informed, civilized dialogue among political parties. This is possible if the parties are willing to provide thoughtful answers to data-driven questions and if the outlook is to find solutions that are fair and equitable. Events like this could be a potential template for conversations between civil society groups and political parties.

V. Ravichandar

Twitter@ravichandar

Author is an urban expert, who calls himself the Patron Saint of Lost Causes

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