BENGALURU: With Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai promising to review Bengaluru development and announcing mega funds for the city’s infrastructure improvement, experts and officials have pointed out to the lack of coordination between government agencies and called for better management.
There have been numerous instances where a road recently asphalted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been dug up by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to lay or clean sewage lines. New roads have even been dug up by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd (Bescom) for utility works. Citizens and experts suggest that government targets can only be met when there is coordination and all agencies work under one umbrella.
Former BBMP commissioners and even serving officials from the Urban Development Department (UDD) and BBMP had proposed that the government bring all agencies under BBMP for effective and coordinated project works in the city, but the proposal is still gathering dust. “Whenever there are bad roads, potholes or other issues, the BBMP is blamed. Citizens fail to realise that there are other agencies which are also responsible. So, it is high time the government addresses this issue,” said a UDD official.
The officials also said, “Earlier, when T M Vijay Bhaskar was chief secretary, regular coordination meetings used to be held. Now, they have all stopped and so every thing is back to square one, where no one knows which agency is doing what work on which road. If the government wants roads to be completely pothole-free, not be dug up and infrastructure projects completed on time, it is important that all agencies work together.”
The CM recently held a metropolitan planning committee meeting with all city agencies for coordination. But implementation of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Act was not considered, pointed out Srinivas Alavilli, head, Civic Participation, Janaagraha.
He said the root cause of problems in Bengaluru is the weak governance structure. The city needs a proper governance model. All the agencies report to the minister. Instead, they should report to the elected representatives in the BBMP council.