BENGALURU: Looking back over the last year, what comes to mind most strongly is the collapse of the six-storey under-construction building in Babusab Palya, near Hennur, killing nine workers. The building had blatantly violated several bylaws. It seems to denote the complete collapse of accountability on the part of the BBMP to curb violations.
Several circulars were subsequently issued on the responsibility of various officials to undertake demolitions of buildings violating bylaws. Still, except for one or two that were demolished symbolically, most illegal buildings continue to thrive.
There was also flooding in several parts of Bengaluru after the rain, including at Kendriya Vihar Apartments in Yelahanka and Sai Baba Layout in Horamavu, which has been flooding repeatedly for several years now. The Palike had to deploy tractors to evacuate residents.
There was also an episode of illegal road construction and encroachment by a law-maker himself over a lake-bed, its buffer zone and raja kaluve, flooding a whole neighbourhood. What this flooding seems to signify is the complete washing away of the rule of law in the BBMP. There were also myriad stories of uncontrolled illegal drilling of borewells without permission.
Repeated orders of the Karnataka High Court to establish local processing centres for wet waste in all wards continue to languish. But a person in authority himself has termed the garbage authorities in Bengaluru “a mafia”, almost expressing helplessness in the government to control it.
It has also been claimed by the government that only waste-to-energy projects with investments of up to Rs 2,000 crore can be sustained. In addition, Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for a sky deck, which could have been used to give each one of the 3 million households in Bengaluru a compost bin, available at Rs 1,500 each, and solve the garbage crisis at source. The chief engineer in charge of BBMP’s garbage has himself said, “Citizens must now segregate and process their waste… even in individual homes, as there is nothing more we can do”.
But it seems, the costlier the projects are, the better they are. The BWSSB hopes to solve the water crisis of Bengaluru by bringing water through the Cauvery Stage V at an investment of around Rs 4,336 crore, which aims to boost water access benefitting 110 BBMP villages.
There are also plans to bring water from Mekedatu to quench Bengaluru’s thirst by investing Rs 14,000 crore. The BWSSB head himself says that not enough has been done in the area of rainwater harvesting. Experts suggest that tunnels can be built under Bengaluru’s roads to store rainwater that falls right here. Instead, there are plans to build tunnel roads for private vehicles that will likely disrupt even the existing aquifers supplying water to borewells.
While no elections have been held to the BBMP for four years, preventing it from having the mandated decentralised planning body, the Metropolitan Planning Committee, all plans are being undertaken by the state government in blatant violation of the Constitution.
By stating that elections to the BBMP cannot be held currently, as a Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill (GBGB) is being planned, a Joint Select Committee (JSC) has been constituted to review the GBGB. But the JSC, which was given three months to submit its recommendations in August, has not shown any inclination to organise public consultations on the Bill and has nonchalantly passed the deadline for completing the task.
Not having elections to the Palike also seems to have the tacit approval of all political parties. Another instance of letting the rule of law flow down the drain.