Bengaluru Budget: CM must ensure state delivers on its promises

By Srikanth Viswanathan

The chief minister has allocated Rs 5,000 crore to Bengaluru in the State Budget. While the BBMP has got the lion's share of Rs 3,000 crore, the BDA, BWSSB and the Bangalore Metro share the balance. There are fourteen paragraphs that relate to Bengaluru, between pages 96 and 101 of the Budget book (accessible to the public through http: www.finance.kar.nic.inindex.htm) of which nine paragraphs do not mention the amount budgeted. The aggregate outlays mentioned in four out of the remaining five paragraphs is a measly Rs 400 crore. The one insightful paragraph is primarily a list of road-widening projects.

With some effort, I was able to discover the silver lining in the State Budget. Interestingly they were all provisions that not only impact the quality of life in Bengaluru but also provide leeway for Bengalureans to actively engage with the government.

WALKABILITY & PEDESTRIAN SAFETY

The BDA has received funds to build 25 skywalks in different parts of Bengaluru under PPP model. The general experience with skywalks is where governments build them, citizens do not use them. Citizens therefore are better placed today to decide on locations where they are likely to use skywalks and should write to the BDA with their preferences.

REGISTRATION OF PROPERTY

The Registration Act, 1908, is proposed to be amended to facilitate online registration of agreements of sale, lease deeds and leave and licence agreements. Registration of documents, especially propertyrelated documents, is easily among the top five pain points for Bengalureans. We can now stop paying bribes at sub-registrar offices. The CM has sweetened it further by providing for online timeslot booking, online payment of stamp duty and registration fees, downloadable formats -all of which are substantive measures that would reduce corruption and red tape.

CRIME AND SAFETY

The Bengaluru Police has received Rs 8 crore towards surveillance cameras. Citizens should actively engage with the Police on prioritising locations where these can be placed. The fine balance between effective surveillance on one hand and intrusion of privacy and wastage on the other, is best found through citizen participation.

DATA-DRIVEN DECISION

A Big Data platform is proposed to be established to enable effective decisionmaking in providing citizen services by analysing data. This is a laudable initiative. Data-driven decision-making has been a crying need for some years now. Citizens should however insist that such data is publicly disclosed preferably as per Open Data standards.

FREE WI-FI

Free Wi-Fi would be expanded across Bengaluru in a phased manner. Bengalureans should voice their opinions on the pecking order in which they would like to see this rolled out. I vote for Namma Metro, Cubbon Park, Lalbagh, Tender SURE roads followed by all neighbourhood parks for the first phase.

I would strongly urge my fellow citizens to write to the respective governments on 2 April to ensure the budgeted rupee does not lose its way in the sarkari corridor, but finds its way to better quality of life. 1 April is indeed the first day when this State Budget kicks in, but the government may think this time the citizen is pulling a fast one on it.

(The writer is Coordinator Advocacy, Research and Capacity Building, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy)