Expectations from the Government
In the last decade or so, the face of Bangalore has changed forever, including its name. Aided by the high quality talent, friendly people, excellent all-year weather and a progressive government, the city made the whole world standup and take notice. This was aptly summed up by Tom Peters in 2002 – “Fifteen years ago, not one in 1,000 Americans could spot Bangalore on the map. Today, six out of seven think Bangalore is the only city in India. They basically believe 1 billion people live in Bangalore."
The last few years have been quite depressing from a governance point of view. Crumbling infrastructure, poor planning, tardy implementation, petty politics has resulted in more people all over the world debating about Bangalore’s deteriorating civic amenities than about what the city offers. Now the time has come to change this – bring in a stable government and set clear expectations on what we want from the government.
1. Put critical infrastructure projects (Airport connectivity, NICE corridor, Metro, 4-lane connectivity to all districts) on a fast track implementation path – almost as though we are at war
o Set up steering committees with active public participation to review progress
o Set up fortnightly/monthly review meetings and publish status reports
o Get project management expertise from wherever they are available
2. Come up with a bold and decisive approach to urban traffic management – with active participation from all quarters
o Setup no-traffic zones in areas like MG Road and Commercial street
o Develop parking solutions to meet the needs
o Encourage mass transport within private sectors and government – stagger working hours
o Make CNG mandatory
o Restrict good carrier movement from 10PM to 6AM only
3. Derisk health problems in the state – say NO to epidemic
o Cover every village on the Yeshaswini insurance scheme
4. Urban planning should get its due
o Accept that it is a specialized are and we need experts to handle this
o Structurally change the responsibility of planning to the city rather than the state – as it brings priority and higher accountability
5. Start process for thinking about issues which will come up 15-20 years from now
o Sewage system and storm drains
o Rapid depletion of ground water table
o Revival of rain water harvesting schemes
6. Educate to build awareness and sensitivity, formulate policies and come up with implementation plan for pollution – air pollution, noise pollution, plastic pollution and visual pollution
7. Make Karnataka India’s No. 1 tourist destination through safe, friendly and affordable locations
o Build rapid rail and road connectivity to Mysore to build it as a twin city
8. Setup annual, measurable goals for e-Governance schemes and ensure that all citizens are touched by this.
9. Make a start in making Bangalore as one of the first cities with a clear well defined policy to become a GREEN City
o Measure the current carbon foot print of Bangalore
o Define measurable goals to reduce the carbon footprint
o Get Carbon credits and use them to create carbon sinks
10. Start “Education, awareness and change in behavior” initiatives in the cities, in collaboration with NGO’s, law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and private sector; some examples,
o Its cool to follow rules – encourages people to follow rules – traffic and otherwise
o The street is an extension of my house – encourages people, especially housewives and maids to take an inclusive view of cleanliness; most people clean their house and throw the garbage on the street
11. Last but not the least – don’t play the urban vs rural card
o It need not be either or – both are needed to get an inclusive growth
o An economically-strong Bangalore will benefit the entire state – as it generates 50% of revenue that the state earns
o And according the an article published by Roopa Purshothaman in India Knowledge@Wharton titled “Does urban development drive rural growth in India”, where she states that - "Our studies show that a 10% increase in urban expenditure is associated with a 4.8% increase in rural non-farm employment"
