Bengaluru has a brand new Mayor! Soon after his election, he made the right promises and demonstrated a determination to meet the expectations of fellow citizens of this great city. Those of us who have lived in Bengaluru for some time have got accustomed to such statements of intent made every year when a new Bengaluru Mayor is elected. When the times comes to demit office, we will be once again told by the city's first citizen, that, one year is too short a time to perform and deliver! Is it a question of 365 days being too short a span of time to act or do Mayors find themselves in positions which allow them to do precious little for their city given the limited powers and resources at their command?
The last week also saw the Chairpersons of the Standing Committee's of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) being chosen. Corporators from the ruling party marshaled all the influence at their command to get key positions. Given the intense lobbying, it appears clear that these positions are much sought after by those who represent Bengaluru in the local government.
Three issues merit attention in this context. At the time of the election of the Mayor and the Chairpersons of the Standing Committees, the focus of all attention was not so much on the corporators but the ruling party MLAs elected from Bengaluru city. Those in the fray had one or other city MLA as their godfather/godmother who was lobbying on their behalf. The final choice of the Mayoral candidate and Chairpersons of Committees, was done after hectic parleys among the ruling party MLA's from the city. If the ruling party MLA representing a city constituency was additionally a Minister it gave him/her added clout.
This clearly demonstrates the fact that the real power lies not among the elected members of the BBMP, but elsewhere. The 74th constitutional amendment gave a legal status to the elected MLA's from the city by making them ex-officio members of the BBMP. One can well imagine the clout of elected BBMP members when the city MLAs also sit in the House as ex-officio members. It seems time to review this provision if our urban local governments are to be genuinely empowered.
Secondly, the city needs to be debate whether it would prefer a directly elected Mayor who is chosen for the term of the BBMP. This would give a longer term to the Mayor and allow them to have a long term plan. They would then not have the excuse of having had too short a term! It would also allow the occupant to take greater responsibility for the tasks the position of the head of the BBMP involves. It would further make the person more accountable to the citizens of the city.
Finally, it is transparently clear that the limited financial resources that the BBMP has independent access to stifles its functioning. More often than not, it depends on financial support from the government. While we intensely debate the need for greater autonomy of the states in the federal system, this dialogue must be logically taken forward to include the local governments as the legitimate third tier of the federal system.
(Dr Shastri is a keen student of Karnataka politics and the Pro Vice Chancellor, Jain University)