Oh, my beloved Bengaluru, I cry for thee!

Apathy and urban chaos

We the citizens of Bengaluru seem to have lost our hearts. We don’t cry even when we are hit hard, when things around us are falling apart, when our beloved city we praise in sweeter times, is writhing in pain and agony. For it is only when we cry, we can act.The Buddha cried when he saw people suffering, walked out of his palace, and after deep enquiry found answers to people’s problems. In our own times, the Mahatma cried at the plight of his countrymen under colonial rule, donned the mantle of a fakir and led the nation to freedom after a relentless non-violent struggle.

What are we doing in the face of the never-before seen floods in Bengaluru which have disrupted normal life in the city in an extraordinary way causing heavy damage to property and infrastructure? Lord Varuna, the Rain God, clearly unhappy at the utter disrespect shown by the rulers and the people of Nature’s favoured city, has let loose his fury. He has not spared anyone, the poor, the middle class and the rich -- even the hyper-rich CEOs residing in exclusive villas and gated communities. It is a severe warning from the gods -- all of you, the government, the civic authorities, the planners, the builders, the contractors, the corporates, the IT professionals and all the people residing in this beautiful city, wake up and act!

Today, in the democracy we all are proud of, we have no leaders who can shed tears, even as they glance at the ordeals of the people. In a democracy, we need not and cannot wait for an Enlightened Master or a Mahatma to come with a magic wand to solve our problems. Under our Constitution, ‘we the people’ are the masters and it is our responsibility to shape our city and our nation according to our aspirations. The time has come to ask the question if we the people have failed; have we placed too much reliance on our elected representatives? Or is it a collective failure?

The time to pass the buck is over. Blame game must give way to cooperative endeavour. The government, the city legislators, the Opposition leaders must come together to save our capital city in whose most magnificent building they sit and deliberate on the fate of the people of this state.

We know what the problems are. Rains and floods keep coming every year, though on a lesser scale, and every year the same questions are asked and the same answers are given -- encroachments and illegal constructions must stop, drainage must be fixed, roads must be laid according to prescribed norms and of course, we must deal with the ubiquitous problem of corruption.

It is not that our netas don’t know the answers. Reports of several committees and experts with recommendations on what is to be done are on the table. It is not that nothing has been done. Projects are sanctioned and funds are provided. The right question to be asked is are they serious about taking action? Do they really feel for the city and its people? If the response to these questions is positive, things will fall into place and action will follow. The same questions can be asked of others -- the officials responsible for implementation, the persons who indulge in illegal activities and the critics who comment on what needs to be done. We are all guilty in some way for having allowed things to come to such a pass. So, what can be done now?

First, the chief minister who also holds the Bengaluru portfolio must really get serious about getting things done. And he must begin by addressing the fundamentals of governing a large metropolitan city. The problem is not so much the money for infrastructure development as is often assumed. The Chief Commissioner of BBMP recently admitted in despair that what they lack is not money but the capacity to spend; out of Rs 3,600 crore provided, they won’t be able to spend more than half the amount. And even where it is spent, what about the quality of the work executed? Who are those responsible for implementation, who supervises and who monitors? Is the money allocated for a project spent fully on the project? If so, why are potholes seen every year? Are officials held accountable for their performance? Are they trained and competent enough to discharge their responsibilities?

The core issue in urban governance today is human capital, not financial capital. The BBMP does not have adequate manpower and about their professionalism the less said the better. Not because they are inherently inefficient but because they are not trained, be they engineers, town planners or finance managers. This is the story in all the city institutions managing the IT capital of the country. So, the first priority of the CM must be to address the question of human capital.

Second, he must turn his attention to the urban planning system. At the root of many of the ills the city faces today in terms of the physical infrastructure and the built environment, lies the inability to work according a well formulated plan for the city.

The fact that the revised master plan of the city submitted 2-3 years ago has not received any attention of the government speaks volumes for the importance attached to the planning of a city which it keeps lauding for its technological prowess and attracting investments.

What is shocking is that a draft plan prepared after years of hard effort engaging consultants and paying them handsomely, and after extensive public consultations, is scrapped one fine morning on some extraneous grounds and fresh bids are invited to prepare another plan. The CM must personally look into this issue and ensure that a viable city development plan is in place without further loss of time.

This brings me to the final and crucial question of political interference in city administration, defeating the very purpose of the 74th Constitutional Amendment to decentralise local governance. While the state government has an important role as a policy maker in the planned development of its capital city, the legislators and other political leaders should be asked to keep their hands off in the day-to-day management of civic affairs, giving a free hand to the Commissioner and his team and holding them accountable for results.

Will the CM address the three fundamentals -- human capital, city planning and functioning autonomy to city authorities, first from his heart, then from his head and save Bengaluru?