BENGALURU: It is six straight years without an elected body in Bengaluru. While aspirants and ex-corporators say the new and potential leadership was killed by the delay, issues with basic amenities, like potholes, traffic and garbage, continue to haunt Bengalureans. Also, resolution of complaints, including illegal constructions which are rampant, takes a long time.
In the process, the city lost a grant of around Rs 1,000 crore under the 15th Finance Commission as it does not have an elected body. Also, the general paucity of funds with the local administration has led to a delay in paying salaries to the staff, including grave diggers, who are the lowest hierarchical-grade workers.
“The question remains whether the state is willing to share or devolve power to the local bodies. Do recipients of the democratic values of decentralisation have a say in governance? Are the recommendations of the Balwant Rai committee, Ashok Mehta Committee and the 74th Amendment followed in letter and spirit? Are the 18 administrative functions delegated to the civic bodies? Otherwise, there should be a movement to push the government to get serious in holding civic elections,” said Albert Smith, Political Science Professor, Sacred Heart Degree College for Women.
From small issues to big civic concerns, the entire bureaucracy appears to be in total paralysis as there is no elected civic body. There has been no transparency in the execution of any projects. Goons and middlemen run the roost, allege residents of Prakruthi Township, Horamavu.
“Here, the CMC water supply, which was efficiently managed previously by the RWA, fell into the wrong hands. Today, this supply is controlled by a few.
They decide who gets water, while the bureaucracy pleads helplessness. If there was an elected civic body, the management of this critical infrastructure would have been efficient,” said Varkey Thomas, RWA, Prakruthi Township, Bengaluru East.
Taking on both BJP and Congress, which ruled the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Srikanth Narasimhan, founder, Bengaluru Navanirmana Party, said, “The 74th Amendment guarantees municipal bodies as a constitutional right, on a fixed election schedule and not an option that governments can postpone indefinitely.
When in power, both BJP and Congress showed no real urgency to hold elections because the delay suits those who are in charge. It allows them to have control over the city. Power and funds stay concentrated with MLAs and bureaucrats who answer to no one, neither elected corporators nor citizens,” said Narasimhan.
Usha Mohan, Aam Aadmi Party leader, opined that this intentional vacuum is severely undermining Bengaluru’s urban governance. As a global economic hub, the city faces relentless civic strains, from deteriorating roads and failing drainage systems to ineffective garbage management and non-functional street lighting. Expecting citizens to approach their local MLA for hyper-local, daily issues is both unviable and unsustainable, she added.
Poll-tergeist
Last election to Bengaluru’s erstwhile civic body BBMP: 2015
Last day Bengaluru was governed by elected body: Sept 10, 2020
Total wards under BBMP: 198
After delimitation: 243 (BJP 2019-23), 225 (Congress 2023-25)
Under GBA’s five city corporations: 369 wards