The theory is that since the BBMP Council is for a term of 5 years, each Mayor would get one year. But in practice what happens is that each Mayor is never quite elected on time, with the result that there is constant shifting of the term, and some ambiguity. The current Mayors term should have started in April last year, but it did not start until September. In such a situation, what does one year mean? Should he demit office now, or in September this year? Frankly, we ought not to be in this position at all. Having a Mayor for just one year is itself a joke. Its a serious job, and not something to be passed around like musical chairs. But neither BJP nor Congress supports urban governance reforms, and both of them have stalled the introduction of the Bangalore Metro Region Governance Reforms Bill for years now. The courts are finally catching up with their charade (the next hearing is tomorrow), but it would be much easier if we fixed this proactively, politically, rather than under court pressure. And as for Katte Sathya I think he should continue as Mayor until September. He has been a clear improvement over his predecessors, and deserves a full term. It is unfortunate that this will mean a reduced 8-month term for whoever is Mayor next, but that flaw has to be fixed independently. Hopefully, after this BBMP Council ends, we will not have such short-term Mayors. All this reform is certainly possible if there is a cross party push for it. Those of you who supported good candidates from Congress of BJP should take it upon yourselves to hold their feet to the fire. Good cannot be a label that is affixed a priori. They have to show a commitment to constitutional, development-oriented steps for the betterment of the city. Only that will help us derive the true value of having better candidates in the first place.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 05:27:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015