BENGALURU: Five years ago, 110 villages, seven CMCs and one TMC were added to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to form the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. But on the ground, the city still continues to face the same old problems of bad roads, garbage and lack of basic civic amenities.
With the BBMP Council’s tenure set to end on April 22, Express spoke to Mayor Shantakumari and four of her predecessors on their achievements, challenges and unfulfilled dreams.
S K Nataraj, April 2010-April 2011
The first mayor to be elected after the BBMP was formed, S K Nataraj said he considers the construction of the Madiwala underpass in 2010 one of his major achievements. “From laying the foundation to the inauguration, everything was done in just 58 days. I am happy and proud,” he said. On his unfulfilled dream, Nataraj said the civic agency wanted to construct a garbage processing unit similar to the one in Mumbai. “We visited Mumbai where a processing unit had been set up. This unit had the capacity to segregate 15 types of waste, including plastic, paper, metal, debris, wet waste and others. It would compost the wet waste to make manure. This took place in 2010. If we had installed it in Bengaluru, the garbage crisis could have been avoided and we would be living in a clean city. But the officials did not cooperate,” he said.
Sharadamma, April 2011-April 2012
One of the initiatives taken up during her tenure was the issuing of Unique Property Identification numbers. During her term, a team visited Israel to learn about their garbage processing units. The BBMP wanted to set up a unit here and land was even allotted. However, the project did not become a reality.
D Venkatesh Murthy, April 2012-Sept 2013
One of the longest-serving mayors of Bengaluru, three-time councillor D Venkatesh Murthy held the top post for 17 months. He was the only mayor to present the budget himself. “We were able to call tenders for garbage disposal after ten years. It was during my tenure that the TenderSURE roads were approved,” he said. He was also proud of approving the amendment to the Cadre and Recruitment Rule after almost three decades. “I had more time as compared to my colleagues. I tried my best,” he said. However, Murthy said garbage-related rules were not implemented as expected.
B S Sathyanarayana, Sept 2013-Sept 2014
BJP’s senior-most councillor and four-time winner from Basavangudi ward, B S Sathyanarayana, said the widening of Goodshed Road, which had been long pending, was done during his tenure. “That is a major road which connects South and North Bengaluru. Now, people can easily commute to the railway and bus stations,” he said. He also patted himself on the back for ensuring that waste was not sent to the landfill in Mandur. Sathyanarayana said he had taken up the initiative to renovate K R Market by starting a cleaning drive every Monday. “We wanted to construct a platform inside the premises for vendors. But due to some brokers and vested interests, we could not complete the project,” he said.
N Shanthakumari, Sept 2014-April 2015
Senior-most woman councillor N Shanthakumari has held the post for less than eight months. “I have the satisfaction of getting tax money from defaulters. A commercial building on Bannerghatta Road did not pay dues of Rs 10 crore for many years. I went with officials and locked down the premises, following which they agreed to pay up.” Shanthakumari said she wanted to clear encroachments in stormwater drains. “With the time I had, it was not sufficient for me to take up the work,” she said.