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Party manifesto silent on garbage menace

The Congress on Wednesday came out with an 18-point agenda for Bangalore City in its manifesto for the May 5 assembly elections.

The party made a slew of promises, including drafting a comprehensive piece of legislation for the management of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and creating a “Greater Bangalore” region, if voted to power.

Twenty-eight Assembly constituencies fall under the BBMP limits. The pattern of voting in areas under its jurisdiction could be a game changer in the ensuing elections. Given that the stakes are high, the Congress has come out with a separate chapter for Bangalore in its manifesto.

Interestingly, the manifesto is silent on any specific plan to address Bangalore’s garbage menace.  The party’s first priority is a comprehensive law exclusively for the management of the BBMP by bringing the civic body under a single agency, covering all service providers like water supply, transport, housing, power and developmental activities.

This was a measure the BJP had also promised five years ago, but failed to implement.

The party, in its manifesto released by Defence Minister A K Antony, also promised to create a “Greater Bangalore” region with infrastructure and administrative connections with tier II cities like Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Doddaballapur, Tumkur, Ramanagara and Kanakapura.

At a time when the party is striving to regain its foothold in the State capital, senior leader S M Krishna, who led the Congress to victory in the 1999 Assembly elections and transformed Bangalore into an international information technology destination, skipped the manifesto release function.

Krishna is apparently sulking after being sidelined in the candidate selection process. The other top leaders present at the function, including Antony, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara and Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah, said it was just a matter of time before the party took over the reins of power.

Undeterred, the other top leaders present at the function, including Antony, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara and Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah, said it was just a matter of time before the party took over the reins of power. Antony even spoke about constituting a high-power committee to monitor the implementation of the programmes mentioned in the manifesto.

“We plan to review the existing size and quantum of the BBMP jurisdiction and organise it into administratively viable units,” Parameshwara said while releasing the manifesto titled, “Clean Governance, Able Leadership.”

The party plans to ease traffic congestions here by launching a circular railway, construct a north-south and south-east elevated flyover, cutting through the length and breadth of the City, and allow private operators to promote and develop parking lots.

The manifesto has also promised botanical gardens in four different zones of Bangalore and special geriatric departments in corporation hospitals.

High on agenda

-To regain Bangalore’s reputation as Garden City
- To make Bangalore a slum-free city
-To explore the possibility of reorganising into smaller administrative units
-Special packages for villages recently absorbed into BBMP
-To make use of Compressed Natural Gas in all public transport vehicles
- Five more auditoriums along the lines of Ravindra Kalakshetra
-Five hi-tech stadiums in different zones of Bangalore