Bengaluru City needs a separate minister, Mr Bommai

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT 

The need for a separate minister to handle Bengaluru City affairs is being increasingly felt with the skies opening up with uncanny regularity leaving most parts of the city flooded and causing large-scale damage to private and public property.

Bengaluru City Development is considered the most sought after portfolio after the Chief Minister’s post and is considered much more ‘lucrative’ compared to other ministries. For this reason, the CM, whichever party he belongs to, has tried to keep the portfolio for himself irrespective of whether he has the time or inclination to focus on the overall development of Bengaluru which has 28 Assembly constituencies in total. Hundreds of projects are implemented in the city throughout the year and all departments concerned with this, come under the control of the Bengaluru Development ministry. So, it is the wish of every CM to hold on to this portfolio for at least a few months.

Recently, when Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai sent out signals that he wanted to hand over the portfolio to a senior minister, a rat race was witnessed with BJP MLAs of Bengaluru like R. Ashok, V. Somanna, Dr C.N. Ashwath Narayana, S.R. Vishwanath and Nandish Reddy making no secret of their ambitions. Seeing the mad rush, Bommai decided to keep the portfolio with himself to avoid a confrontation brewing between the ministers. A similar situation had prevailed when Siddaramaiah was CM; Bengaluru MLAs had to wait for nearly three and a half years for the CM to give up the post after the city’s infrastructure crumbled due to heavy rain. After witnessing the happenings in the past few months, one can’t help wondering if Bommai is going down the same path and committing the mistakes of his predecessors.

With the CM post carrying enormous responsibility, it was never possible for Siddaramaiah, H.D. Kumaraswamy or Bommai to fully focus on the development of Bengaluru. The CM rarely goes on city rounds to take stock of ongoing works due to paucity of time and depends on the briefing by officials which may sometimes be off the mark. Such officials are exposed when unprecedented rain lashes the city inundating residential areas and claiming lives. The promises made by CMs such as clearing of encroachments on Rajakaluves are never fulfilled due to strong political lobbying and residents are left to suffer every year.

B o m m a i’s predecessor, B.S.Yediyurappa kept the Bengaluru City Development portfolio with himself for many months despite a series of rain related incidents. And if a CM decides to hand over the portfolio, the choice would be a close confidant for obvious reasons.

A dedicated minister for Bengaluru City Development is something the city urgently needs considering the mess all around. And if Bommai is not inclined to give up the prized portfolio despite lagging behind in attending to the city’s problems ever since he assumed power, his party is sure to be at the receiving end when polls are due.