The move to set up a zonal task force has drawn the ire of civic activists working for local self-government.
The move to set up a zonal task force has drawn the ire of civic activists working for local self-government.
After heavy rains wreaked havoc in Bengaluru, following public outcry against Karnataka government and former Chief Minister SM Krishna’s appeal to protect ‘Brand Bengaluru’, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced the formation of a zonal-level task force in the city, It will be headed by an officer. Minister.
“Each of the eight zones of Bengaluru will have a task force headed by a minister, and will have MLAs, MPs and MLCs as its members. Many agencies will have special commissioners, joint commissioners and all other officers. This task force will oversee all development works in the area, and will be the nodal agency in times of crisis like floods,” Mr Bommai announced on May 20.
This comes amid criticism of the chief minister retaining the Bengaluru development department like his predecessor BS Yediyurappa, in order to prevent factional squabbles within the contenders for the post. The chief minister has come under criticism for not giving enough time to the city, especially after the recent heavy rains. Coming into an election year for both the city’s municipal body and the state assembly, the criticism enthused the chief minister, who visited the rain-hit areas for the third consecutive day on May 20 and announced the formation of a zonal task force.
The BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government had made a similar arrangement to appoint a minister for each zone during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the arrangement was scrapped due to intense war between ministers and lack of coordination.
“The final exercise of appointing a minister and a senior IAS officer for each zone effectively divided the city administration into eight zones, and civic officials were hard-pressed amid conflicting directives. It only added to the chaos,” said a senior civic official, who now fears a repetition of the same.
The move to set up a zonal task force has drawn the ire of civic activists supporting the cause of the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India providing for local self-government.
“The MLAs have taken over the city and are controlling it with an iron hand, not holding civic elections on time. Even the new BBMP Act, 2020 has a provision for an advisory council at the assembly constituency level, headed by an MLA, which institutionalizes its control over the city,” said Bengaluru’s DS Rajasekhara Praja Vedike.