Experts Welcome Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s Idea Of Constituting Governance Panel
Update: 2023-06-11 12:43 IST
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar stated last week that the administration would create an advisory group on Bengaluru governance, similar to the task force S M Krishna formed when he was chief minister.
However, they want ward committees, which are required by the constitution, to include citizens of the state capital in such projects. Industry specialists, urban planners, and members of civil society are reportedly included in the committee.
Santosh Nargund, head of Janaagraha's civil involvement department, said that the government's decision to take a targeted approach to Bengaluru's growth is a positive development. Any programme, however, will produce inadequate outcomes and squander money if the public is not involved. All city development initiatives must involve the public from the outset since they have the best local knowledge and intuition to contribute to the projects' planning, design, and execution. He explained that the finest formalised forums to involve citizens in such government activities are the citizens ward committees, which have been operating in Bengaluru for the past three to four years and are required by the constitution.
He mentioned, "The task force must not only have representatives from citizens, civil society organisations and professionals, but also co-opt the ward committees as partners in developing a vision and action plan which is both aspirational at the city level and yet fully decentralised and participatory in practice," reported The Indian Express. According to him, the Metropolitan Planning Committee serves as the city's official forum for all MLAs and MPs.
As a co-founder of Yulu and a former member of task forces established by the state government, R K Misra asserted that Bengaluru was not the only city with such task forces. He said he believed creating an advisory council was a smart move. These task forces or advisory committees were established for a number of reasons. A variety of parties are involved in the city, including businesspeople, academics, and community leaders.