Introduction
The past decade has
seen Bangalore
Leading global and
Indian companies that flocked to this IT and BT capital of the country for its
large talent pool, quality of life and salubrious climate are looking elsewhere
to grow. While several factors have contributed to the erstwhile Garden City
turning into a Garbage
City
Bangalore Political
Action Committee (B.PAC) was formed to make a difference. It was set up through
an initiative by several eminent citizens with the aim to build a better Bangalore and help improve the quality of life of every
citizen. The B.PAC trustees have no personal political ambition: they however
are collectively determined to make the political system work across party
lines to build a better and more inclusive Bangalore .
B.PAC is optimistic
that, having been voted into office with a convincing mandate, the new
government will not waste this opportunity to restore Bangalore
to its former glory.
B.PAC Objectives
B.PAC came into being
through an initiative of leading Bangaloreans including Biocon CMD Kiran
Mazumdar-Shaw who is B.PAC’s President and Managing Trustee, Manipal Global
Education Services Chairman Mohandas Pai (B.PAC Vice President), and former
Karnataka Additional Chief Secretary K Jairaj (B.PAC Trustee and Secretary).
B.PAC members include eminent personalities from politics, business, sports,
arts, and entertainment – it has the support and mentorship of Infosys Chairman
Emeritus NR Narayana Murthy.
The key objectives of
B.PAC are:
·
To promote and sustain good governance
practices and policies for the economic competitiveness, social well-being and
inclusive growth of the city.
·
To promote integrity and transparency in all
arms of the government and to enhance the image of Bangalore .
·
To improve the quality of infrastructure in
the city based on global standards.
·
To identify and support strong candidates for
public office at all levels of governance from Bangalore
city – city council, legislature, and parliament. B.PAC is agnostic to the
political affiliation of candidates, and will focus only on their competence,
integrity and alignment with B.PAC’s specific agenda.
·
To create a safer city where the rule of law
is ensured for all.
The charter and
agenda of B.PAC were unveiled on Feb 4, 2013.
B.PAC Agenda for Bangalore
The B.PAC
Agenda for Bangalore (AfB) is a set of
initiatives that are aimed at enhancing the quality of life for all citizens in
Bangalore . Based on regular reviews, B.PAC may
include new initiatives to address the changing needs of the city. There is
need for urgent action on the following issues:
1.
Effective
governance structure
Challenge: With the policy, planning and administrative
functions of government inter-twined, there is no clarity on roles and
responsibilities of BBMP, state government and Members of Parliament
representing Bangalore . Not surprisingly, as a
consequence, there is no accountability. Further, the reforms and policies aimed
at improving the quality of life in the city mandated by the 74th Amendment,
the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, and the BBMP Act, have not been
implemented effectively.
B.PAC
Solution: Create an
independent ministry for Bangalore with its own
Cabinet-ranking minister and secretariat. This could be the ideal nodal body to
achieve results quickly. With all arms of local and state government engaged
with Bangalore reporting into this ministry, it
could effectively be a single window to address all issues related to the city.
(Please see Concept Note on Minister for Bangalore )
To enable
this governance structure to deliver, the following actions need to taken
without any delay:
i.
Separate Planning and Administration – Create
a statutory planning approach for all aspects of economic and social
development, through the formation of a regional planning authority for Bangalore city.
ii.
Create an Accountable City
iii.
Legislate Special Statute For Bangalore – Introduce legislation as proposed
in the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Governance Bill to strengthen public
administration, to facilitate citizen participation in governance, and to enhance
the powers of city government.
iv.
Make City Government Key Third Tier Of Government – All
parastatals that provide civic services should be brought under a common
authority for the city – the Ministry for Bangalore .
Ensure that the key officials in the BBMP (and the parastatals, e.g. BWSSB,
BMRTC, BESCOM) are appointed in time so that there is adequate leadership to
meet the city’s needs for development. A municipal cadre should be established
for the state, and officials in city government appointed from this cadre only.
v.
Leverage Expertise for Civic Services – Appoint
technical members in the Boards of the civic agencies, and technical advisory
groups in each agency that bring in the expertise of private citizens into the
regular functioning of service providers.
2.
Citizen inclusion in governance
Challenge: As the city grows
with each passing day, so does the scale of the problems we face – whether it
is roads, water supply, power, sanitation, healthcare, or even education.
Further, there is a growing disconnect between citizens and governance.
B.PAC Solution: To address these gaps,
B.PAC wants the formal inclusion of citizens in public decision-making and in
solving problems at the neighborhood levels. This can be done by:
i.
Nominating citizens with necessary expertise
in tackling urban problems as corporators in BBMP.
ii.
Including citizen experts in each of the
Standing Committees of BBMP.
iii.
Forming ward committees in each neighborhood,
thereby involving citizens in projects being executed at the ward level.
3.
Strengthening civic finances
Challenge: Bangalore faces a severe
cash crunch. Without adequate finances it is impossible to develop or even
maintain infrastructure, support economic activity and sustain public services.
Given the importance of the city to the economy of the state, it is critical
that we get this ‘engine’ of the state up and running smoothly.
B.PAC Solution: A number of proposals
for increasing revenue are needed. Considering that Bangalore
contributes 66 percent of Karnataka’s tax revenues, the following steps would
be a good start:
i.
The profession tax collected in the city
should be earmarked by the State government for the city.
ii.
50% of the stamp duties collected on property
transactions in BBMP limits should be given to the city.
iii.
50% of the road tax collected in BBMP limits
should be given to the city.
Such funds
can be given either to BBMP, or to the BDA, for infrastructure development. The
principle of such use can be applied in all cities in the state that drive
economic growth and employment to benefit from the infusion of funds.
4.
Accountable civic agencies
Challenge:
To
most citizens, it is not clear what the civic agencies are doing – although it
is obvious that, whatever it is, they are not doing it well.
B.PAC
Solution: It
is important to set metrics and success targets for each agency which should
also be required to publicly disclose the work it is doing, the progress and
the status of each project big or small. B.PAC seeks:
i.
Public disclosure of expenditure on all
projects.
ii.
Public information on all tenders for works
executed in the city.
iii.
Regular progress reports on all projects.
iv.
Performance audits of projects undertaken by
the officials of BBMP and other parastatals, with scope for citizen feedback
and action thereon.
v.
Annual CAG audit of BBMP.
vi.
A public accounts committee to be created in
BBMP to provide continuous improvement in standards of project execution.
5. Strong infrastructure
Challenge:
To
create a world-class city, we need world class infrastructure. At the moment
there are serious deficits in physical, knowledge, social and financial
infrastructure, and we must overcome these swiftly.
B.PAC
Solution: A
comprehensive proposal for infrastructure development across all sectors has
been drawn up by the Karnataka Information Technology and Communication Group
(KIG) and presented to the government on January 8, 2013. B.PAC urges the
government to take up and implement this report in a planned and effective manner
without any delay.
6. Strengthening urban politics
Challenge
– Urban Representation: Despite the growing urbanization in the
country, the number of seats in State legislatures and Parliament from urban areas
has not grown.
B.PAC
Solution: B.PAC
will explore legal and political processes to ensure that urban representation
reflects changing demographic trends.
Challenge
– Campaign Finance: The permissible limits on expenditure for
election campaigns are currently too low and need to be reviewed realistically.
Further, the monitoring of campaign expenditure is weak.
B.PAC
Solution: B.PAC
will seek necessary interventions by courts as well as by the Election
Commission to set realistic limits for expenditure, and ensure that these are
regulated well, so that voters get to know their candidates well before
elections.
B.PAC
Initiatives and Successes
Within weeks of its
formation, B.PAC has undertaken several initiatives to achieve its objectives.
These include supporting voter registration efforts to encourage citizens to
participate in the democratic process, communication and outreach to citizens to
enlist support for the Agenda for Bangalore, engaging with political leadership
across parties, providing support to candidates who support B.PAC’s agenda, and
communicating with voters on B.PAC-backed candidates using all channels
including social media.
Some of the
significant early successes include:
·
Victory of 5 out of 14 B.PAC-endorsed
candidates in the recent Karnataka Assembly elections. The other candidates
that B.PAC endorsed also performed well. This is a clear sign that with
greater awareness and participation, the educated urban citizen will vote for
candidates who demonstrate competence, integrity and the will to drive change.
·
Enrolling of thousands of new voters for the
recent elections – B.PAC’s efforts led to 600,000 new voters being registered
in a record 3 months.
·
Target of registering 1 million new voters
for the forthcoming general elections
·
Large numbers of Bangaloreans are signing up
to join and work with B.PAC
B.PAC Team
The B.PAC team is
headed by its President and Managing Trustee Kiran Mazumdar Shaw who is
supported by Vice President and Trustee Mohandas Pai and Secretary and Trustee
K Jairaj. The other Trustees are Ashwini Nachappa and Prasad Bidapa. B.PAC
Members include Stanley Pinto, Charu Sharma, Harish Bijoor, Harish Narsappa,
Kalpana Kar, Nisha Millet, Nooraine Fazal, Prakash Belavadi, and Vani
Ganapathy.
Conclusion
Bangalore Political
Action Committee (B.PAC) that was started by prominent Bangaloreans is fast
gaining traction with common people coming out to support its agenda. The
agenda is to rescue Bangalore from the pitiful state it is in today and help
make it a world-class city for the betterment of all its citizens. B.PAC will
work closely with the political leadership to ensure that this is achieved.
Effecting change through political will along the lines outlined earlier in
this paper will not only help Bangalore and its citizens but also benefit the
entire state. B.PAC is committed to engaging in all forums including the courts
of law to ensure political change that helps rebuild a Bangalore that we all
will be proud of.
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