BENGALURU: As Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) completes one year of its formation today (September 2), experts, corporators of the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and opposition BJP MLAs took a dig at the government.
“As the GBA completes one year, Bengaluru city remains without an elected body for a straight sixth year. Issues like garbage mismanagement, potholes and bad roads remain unattended in many areas,” said CK Ramamurthy, Jayanagar MLA and former BBMP corporator. He said officials don’t care to resolve public grievances and the ruling government is using them to torment taxpayers.
“Some city corporations are in a severe financial crisis and facing the wrath of everyone. It is difficult to pay staff salaries,” said Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar. Former BBMP corporator Manjunath Raju said that for a metropolitan city, financial discipline, tax reforms and road history knowledge are a must, but even after one year, GBA officials are struggling to know the basics.
While there is concern over GBA’s long-term ‘success’, many aspirants and cadres across party lines say their aspirations have been reduced to ashes with such a lengthy delay in holding municipal elections.
“Leaders and workers waiting for a chance to get a ticket from a party for 15-20 years are turning away from party meetings. MLAs, MLCs and MPs across parties are to be blamed as it appears they are hand-in-glove in delaying elections by forming the GBA,” said S Harish, former deputy mayor. BJP leader Padmanabha Reddy said formation of the GBA is itself “unconstitutional”.
Denying Bengaluru citizens their right to choose the local body for six years is an assault on democracy. “Replacing BBMP with GBA has only added to bureaucratic red tape without giving citizens a voice. Without elected corporators, Bengaluru has no accountable local authority to approach for basic civic needs,” said Ashok Mruthyunjaya, Bengaluru East incharge, Aam Aadmi Party.
However, Albert Smith, political commentator and faculty at Sacred Heart College, argues that Bengalureans should put their trust in the efforts and work of the GBA. Admitting that flyover projects are yet to take off, several roads are covered with dust and riddled with potholes; stormwater drains are filled with silt and weeds; untimely clearance and monitoring of garbage; missing streetlights on roads and high-density corridors; congestion and road repair works have affected movement of traffic, Albert Smith said Bengaluru needs to be patient and give the GBA enough time to put the city on track to become a world-class metro.
BCCC Executive engineer suspended for neglect of streetlights
Bengaluru: Acting on the directions of Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, the Bengaluru Development Authority (GBA) has suspended Bangalore Central City Corporation’s Executive Engineer (Electrical) HV Ramesh for not maintaining streetlights.
A GBA release said that on August 28, Byre Gowda inspected the streetlights between Hudson Circle and Chalukya Circle and found the lights on 140 electric poles were not working. The minister directed the engineer to address the issue, but the engineer did not follow the instruction, inviting punitive action.