‘Mockery of democracy’: Civic groups slam move to delay Bengaluru civic polls again
Civic groups and activists have termed the State government’s move to seek yet another extension for the Bengaluru civic polls an absolute “mockery of democracy”
Civic groups and activists have termed the State government’s move to seek yet another extension for the Bengaluru civic polls an absolute “mockery of democracy” and an attempt to burden the city with unscientific projects without citizen participation. Activist V. Ramprasad said the move is “effectively trampling on the constitutional right to local self-governance and participatory democracy”. Sneha Nandihal of I Change Indiranagar said that in the absence of elections, citizens have been forced to settle for whatever little governance the bureaucratic administration provides.
“We have reached a point where we are saying, let anything happen,” she said. The activists pointed out that the absence of an elected body has restricted citizens from expressing their views, resulting in limited public participation and leading to the unscientific planning and execution of projects. They cited the elevated corridors, tunnel road, and several other projects that are moving ahead despite strong public opposition. Akshay, a resident of south Bengaluru, highlighted how the bureaucratic administration has nearly eliminated the importance of public opinion, citing an instance where an IAS officer asked a group of youth activists to approach the court over the tunnel road project when they requested the administration to reconsider it.
Clement Jayakumar of the Mahadevapura Task Force stressed that elected councillors serve as an important bridge between the administration and the residents of Bengaluru. “Residents do not understand the nuances of which department is responsible for resolving which issue. Bengaluru not having elected councillors for over six years has severely impacted the speed at which civic issues get resolved,” he added. A volunteer from Whitefield Rising said, “The city has already gone far too long without an elected municipal council, weakening democratic accountability and effective local governance.
This move is completely unacceptable. If the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls requires more time, it should be undertaken as a separate, long-term exercise and not be used as a reason to postpone municipal elections,” she said.
The BriefWire