Is BBMP ward delimitation in the interest of good governance?

The Karnataka Government has finally released the proposed BBMP Ward Delimitation 2022. Why is it so very important? Because the ward boundaries result in the basic unit of governance in a city. It impacts the quality of life of every citizen.

The very idea of wards in the 74th Amendment exists as a tool to empower grassroots governance. If this unit of governance is not logically mapped, then it results in serious disadvantages to the citizen, in terms of planning, of imagining the ward, of engaging with the officials of local government for upkeep and development of the locality, and availing of services.

What is the primary purpose of a Ward Delimitation? Is it purely electoral? Or, at the level of cities, should there be other criteria? Constituencies for Lok Sabha and state elections are purely electoral boundaries and have no implication administratively or on governance. In fact, these boundaries are notional. The de facto administrative units are state boundaries, district boundaries, taluk boundaries, and so on.

However, when ward boundaries are drawn up in a city, the impact is fundamental on the basic functions of administration and governance. All aspects of governance are impacted if this decision is badly made.

In the present delimitation draft, ward boundaries do not have any logic. Many of the boundaries crisscross old village areas, splitting neighbourhoods between many different wards. How homogeneous or cogent will the administration of these areas be? Boundaries traverse through narrow internal streets, not even wide arterial roads. Even the earlier ward delimitation had the same problems.

For the average citizen, this results in an overwhelming web of bureaucracy to deal with, even for basic issues. Immediate neighbours will need to attend different ward committee meetings, address different officials. For a road repair, or for street light, or even water issues, there will be no owner, each ward will pass the buck to the other. This is not rational.

Let village boundaries be

As Bengaluru grew exponentially, neighbouring villages were absorbed into the city limits. Somehow, authorities did not see logic in converting the village boundaries as ward boundaries. Instead, they went about redrawing them, creating a mess in the process.

A quick comparison of the present Delimitation proposal and the Villages maps of the Revenue Department have a tale to tell. It is quite obvious that the ward sizes roughly correspond to the old village boundaries. In that case, where was the need to alter them at all? Imagine that we had retained village boundaries into wards, what might have been the benefits?

Continuity: Villages have existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and have a sense of identity, cohesion, organic growth and a logical spread of services. Apart from this, each village had a panchayat office, which could have naturally upgraded into the Ward Office, saving costs. There would have been a continuity in documentation, avoidance of repeat generation of so much data, etc.

Maps: The revenue department of the government maintains all maps even to this day on the basis of the village maps. The differing ward boundaries necessitate creating of parallel maps, which, apart from repetition, have discrepancies, causing unnecessary complications and confusion.

Manageability: Since village boundaries evolved organically, they respect topography, water catchment, storm water drains, lakes, water bodies, green belts, wetlands, etc., and settlement areas evolved over time. This imparts a sense of space and relationship to the residents. Zoning and management of these areas and resources are easier and coherent.

Whose job is delimitation?

While the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2007) as well as the CAG (2020) had recommended that the State Election Commission be charged with the task of delimitation and reservation of wards, the Karnataka State Government decided to form a commission of its own. But do either of these meet the challenges?

In keeping with the spirit of the 74th amendment, if power is to be devolved, should the state even be undertaking the delimitation exercise at all? Shouldn’t the Metropolitan Planning Committee, the authority constituted for planning the city, be entrusted with the job?

Since ward boundary impacts planning, administration and good governance functions, should not Urban Planners and Public Policy experts be part of the delimitation commission, to ensure that these perspectives are addressed?

What should the rationale be?

The only parameter right now seems to ensure uniform populations across wards. But even here, the census figures utilized for the purpose are outdated, and many areas of the city have witnessed exponential rise in population since the last census. So, the outcome is inaccurate.

But the logic that a uniform population will lead to fairer fund allotment is also wrong. Wards that have less density will result in more area. Other factors also impact ward budget requirements. This is too simplistic an argument.

And when the focus is population count, it leads to gerrymandering, especially when the State Govt is in charge of delimitation, with politicians of the party in power trying very hard to get as many slums (vote banks) included in their ward boundaries, to manipulate the electoral outcomes. This sacrifices the governability of the ward.

The result of delimitation ought to be a ward that is relatable to every resident, allow for citizens to engage, collaborate and participate in taking ownership of and being a partner in governance. A more creative set of parameters is definitely called for. My bet is that to begin with the Village map as the Ward map would meet most of the criteria, and would simplify as well as rationalize the ward boundary delimitation.

Ultimate stakeholders

And where do the ultimate stakeholders, the citizens, fit into this exercise? It is obvious that a public engagement was due prior to the formation of the maps, rather than after it. The top down method of planning is undemocratic.

A fully functional and empowered Metropolitan Planning Committee is long overdue. And a mechanism under MPC needs to be created to affect ward planning, among other things. It is not just the promise of the 74th amendment that eludes us, it is the dream of Gandhiji in ‘Hind Swaraj’, ‘Indian Home Rule’, that still eludes us.

(The writer engages on governance, citizen engagement and sustainability issues, and is founder of ‘Citizens Agenda for Bengaluru’, ‘Namma Whitefield’, and other citizen communities.)