BENGALURU : Coalition governments need a framework for governance that the partners agree on. They start with a CMP, also known as ‘Common Minimum Programme’. The ‘M’ should stand for Maximum since its unlikely that anything more than what is in the CMP will get done! One item this author hopes makes it to the CMP is a separate Act for Bengaluru.
The initial case for a separate Act for Bengaluru including a directly elected mayor was made by the erstwhile Kasturirangan Committee. This line of thought was further expanded by the three-member (disclosure – this author was a member) BBMP Restructuring Expert Committee. The restructuring exercise reimagined the contours of Bengaluru’s governance and administration. It was based on a citizen-centric exercise to make life better for all citizens.
The solution lies in genuine decentralization with citizen participation at the ward and corporation-levels of the BBMP, and integration at the city-level across the multiple government agencies. The ward is the lowest unit where ordinary citizens can play a role for their neighbourhood. Currently, ward committees are non-operational and if set up is filled up with cronies of the corporator. We could consider a 20-member ward committee where 10 seats are based on proportional representation to winners / losers of the BBMP elections with each 10% vote share getting a representation. The balance 10 could be distributed among citizen groups.
Currently, all corporators being in a 260-member (including MLAs, MLCs, MPs) council at Hudson Circle is a pointless exercise. There is hardly any scope to discuss ward-level issues. Having multiple corporations (we recommended five) will bring the elected representatives closer to citizens. London has 32 of them and its no one’s case that London is not an example of a well-governed city. Most outcomes citizens want requires a multiplicity of civic agencies like BBMP, BDA, BWSSB, BESCOM, BMTC, BMRCL, Police working together.
This is not happening. A Greater Bengaluru Authority with a directly elected mayor could act as the coordination body with accountability at the apex level. We have been witnessing the mega Corporation model with the many parastatal agencies for the last decade. It is a dysfunctional, unwieldy set up and does not work. It’s time we woke up to the reality that we need new age solutions to age old problems and a separate Bengaluru Act is a good place to start.