Three years and Three-quarters over without corporators

 Gram swarajya, panchayat raj system is a black spot

 Three years and Three-quarters over without corporators

 History of Corporation Members (Year)

•  63; Bangalore Municipal Council (1983)
•  83; Bangalore Municipal Corporation (1989)
•  100; Bangalore Municipal Corporation (1996)
•  198; Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation (2010)
•  225; Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation (2023 proposal)

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ 

 BENGALURU: Three-quarters of a year has passed without the corporators being 'taken up' by citizens to solve problems like garbage, culverts, roads, dirty water. For the first time since the establishment of the corporation, the corporation council has not been in existence for such a long period.

 With a history of around 162 years since the Municipal Board in 1862, local representatives are the lifeblood of Bangalore Corporation. The corporators are entrusted with the supervision of the development works of the city. However, in September 2020, the term of the BBMP Council has ended.

 It was Mahatma Gandhi's wish that 'every village should become a Swaraj' and take care of its own affairs as a decentralized government. In 1992, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, he amended the constitution and implemented the 'Panchayatraj system' across the country. However, the state government is not giving priority to such a wish. That is why the local elections are going ahead. 

 There have been no corporators in the state capital for three-quarters of a year. The continued centralized power of the Ministers and MLAs is contrary to the Constitution's intention of decentralizing power.

Due to such a centralized system, the daily problems of the citizens are not being solved. The Minister is the Chief Commissioner, even if he has made a helpline, shouldn't the local authorities respond to it? 800 sq.km city will the chief commissioner sitting in the central office or the administrator sitting in the mayor's position interact with the people like people's representatives?

 'Definitely not' is the word expressed by the citizens. The corporators in our locality respond to the citizens' problems. You can go to their house and tell them the problems. A loud one can do it. However, the authorities do not even talk to us. It is being heard everywhere that the officer is not responding even though he has been complaining about the common problems for three years. However, having corporators does not mean that everything is fine. Local problems can be solved more by them than MLAs and officials.

 enough...enough...

 Garbage was not disposed of in an area of Dasarahalli for the last one week. The road in that part has been dug for a week but the repair has not been completed. So waste collectors were not coming. Called BBMP control room to no avail. He did not know who to tell to control the smell of garbage. In the end it was enough to catch someone and dispose of the garbage. If it was the same corporator, this would not have happened. Residents of a barangay explained the incident by saying that they are needed to solve local problems.

 Meeting every month!

 If a council exists in BBMP, it meets every month. Citizens' issues are discussed there by corporators. They point out about the facilities required for their ward and the works that should not be done. The non-functioning officer will also be reprimanded. It cannot be said that they work in a completely pro-people manner. However, the corporator immediately responds to garbage disposal, road potholes, silt in drains, clearing of tree-branches, electric pole, wire problem, water supply interruptions that citizens face on a daily basis. The boys around him also run around and make sure that the work is done.