BBMP Council should endorse the division of the municipality into smaller units. There are two reasons why this debate is going on now in Council. The State government will use delimitation as a ploy to delay the elections, due to be held next year. This is what both BJP and Congress have been routinely doing in the last few years. But corporators are equally to blame. Their opposition to the division of the city is also an effort to preserve the current reservations for different wards, which will allow them to recontest the seats they now hold. Even division of the city into two will not solve the challenges of administration, btw). It is better to divide into five or six, and also come up with a proper plan for incropration of outlying areas as the city sprawls. Else, in 2025, we will be looking at a city of 16+ million people, with some wards in outlying areas larger than Assembly constituencies in core areas. Let us also remember what the law requires. Apart from the local council and the State govt, the law also requires a metropolitan level (between state and BBMP) to plan all the different civic areas together. But the state government has been reluctant to create this layer, because it wants to keep all the powers it now holds. The debate about whats right for improving planning and administration in Bangalore, although it is framed in language about history, unity, etc. is actually a fight for political turf.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 05:20:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015