Bengaluru: It’s not often that the civic body and citizens’ groups, which are usually at loggerheads, find common ground. But they have been united by the government’s move to clip the wings of the civic body and restrict its financial autonomy.
The State government has decided to set up an Empowered Committee — headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department and other bureaucrats — to ratify all tenders above Rs. 10 crore issued by the BBMP, not just during the granting of tenders but for calling tenders too.
This has irked several citizens’ groups and councillors. While the circular was issued in November, it came to the attention of the public recently.
Prakash Belawadi of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), which is at the forefront of the SteelFlyoverBeda campaign, said that successive governments have curbed the powers of the BBMP. “This will reduce the ability of councillors and thereby the citizens to drive the agenda on the ground,” he said.
Civic activists and the opposition BJP are preparing for a legal battle. Even the JD(S) — ally of the ruling Congress in the BBMP council — on Monday condemned the circular and demanded that it be rescinded immediately.
While Congress councillors are defending the move on record, in private, many told The Hindu that this would undermine their connection with citizens.
Padmanabha Reddy, opposition leader in the BBMP, met the chief secretary and wrote to the chief minister on Monday. He said, “This has no legal standing and will be challenged in court. The KMC Act is very clear. It entrusts the council, standing committees and the commissioner powers to administer the finances.”
D.S. Rajashekhar, president of Citizen Action Forum, a forum of over 110 RWAs, said that the move amounted to centralisation of powers in the State government's hands and is a setback for participative democracy. “It is a clear violation of the 74th Amendment of the Constitution that seeks to strengthen local self-government,” he said.
Sources in the Urban Development Department defended the move saying it would curb corruption in the granting of tenders. However, citizens are not buying this argument.
“This reason is not tenable. How can you say that there will be no corruption at the State government level,” argued Kathyayini Chamaraj of CIVIC, one of the groups opposing the move.
Empowered Committee
· Formed by an executive order on November 3
· Headed by Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department
· Will ratify all civic tenders above Rs. 10 crore
PeopleSpeak
“The empowered committee is as per the KMC Act. Our only aim is to ensure that BBMP officials are completing work on time”
— K.J. George, Bengaluru Development Minister
“From Master Plan to Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee, the government has always been violating the 74th amendment”
— Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO, Namma Bengaluru Foundation
“The empowered committee is undermining the powers of the council and thus the people at the ward level”
— R. Ramila Umashankar, leader, JDS, BBMP
