What the new government must do to make Bengaluru better

1: Transport and mobility

Active Mobility Bill: Legislate the Active Mobility Bill to ensure that BBMP spending on the footpath and cycling infrastructure is governed for accountability. It will provide reliable last-mile connectivity.

Bus and suburban rail: BMTC is slowly dying due to the lack of funding. 600 buses are lying idle in depots. Now the government must make new investments to improve buses. Suburban rail implementation suffers from funding uncertainty and official apathy. The new government should create a professional and accountable implementing regime.

Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA): Build a world-class professional BMLTA to achieve sustainable outcomes in urban mobility. Dedicate at least Rs 100 crore and have transparent and robust recruitment practices to build and run the organisation professionally.

Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP): Done as a tick-in-the-box exercise by BMRCL to obtain funding, today this is outdated. BMLTA should now prepare a fresh CMP that is fully consulted, funded, land-use congruent and mode-coordinated, with a monitoring framework.

Digital urban mobility regulatory framework: Digital ride-hailing in Bengaluru is operating in a regulatory void. BMLTA should devise and implement a pragmatic and comprehensive regulatory framework to promote reliable and safe multimodal travel.

2: Environment

Water and sanitation: Implement the Karnataka High Court orders to protect lakes and Rajakaluves to ensure the city is water-secure. Implement rainwater harvesting to prevent flooding. Provide sanitation and drainage facilities for all neighbourhoods.

Air pollution: Reduce private modes of travel and increase public transport. Stop the burning of waste, and monitor and mitigate construction dust. Have more pollution monitors. Conduct research on the impact of air pollution. Raise awareness of its impacts.

Waste management: Ensure composting of wet waste. Implement scientific, environmentally and socially just and economically feasible ways of managing recyclable, biomedical and hazardous waste.

Energy: Ensure rooftop solar energy generation in all possible government and private buildings to a great extent with subsidies.

Mitigate effects of climate change: Identify vulnerable areas and communities. Help them prepare for climate risks. Ensure safe liveable housing for all. Re-green and re-cool the city with indigenous avenue trees in all wards. Stop cutting trees.

3: Health and nutrition

Nutrition: Make Indira canteens functional. Offer low-cost, nutritious foods that even have dairy, meat, fish and eggs, to improve the nutrition of the working class. Introduce school-based kitchens and provide eggs on at least five days a week. Consider other animal-source foods as well for children.

Working class: Support people working in sanitation, garment, health workers, Anganwadi and mid-day meal workers and helpers with adequate wages, affordable shelter, and public health and education facilities.

Street vending: Street food is an important part of the low-cost nutrition system in Bengaluru. Harassment, bullying and forced eviction by police and corporates should stop.

Public health: Upgrade all urban health facilities instead of building new Namma Clinics. Ensure all public health centres are fully functional.

4: Collective welfare

Governance: Hold BBMP elections. Let the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) start functioning. Let the elected corporators do their job, and let elected MLAs not interfere in local issues.

Youth: Provide government-certified mental health counselling services for the poor and vulnerable. Set up de-addiction centres and free counselling services for vulnerable youth.

Education: Make education accessible for all, particularly the migrant population and the poor.

Recreation: Make all public spaces fully accessible and inclusive. Create spaces such as museums, libraries, archives etc. that bring communities together to celebrate art and culture in every ward.

Labour and livelihoods: Ensure labour laws are fair and implement them across all sectors. Create vocational training centres and skill development centres. Provide adult education in reading and writing. Try to provide jobs for retired senior citizens.

INPUTS:

Bhargavi S Rao, Trustee, Environment Support Group
Dr Sylvia Karpagam, public health professional
Srinivas Alavilli, civic activist
Satya Arikutharam, Mobility planning expert