Close association of stakeholders can end Bangalore’s woes

After witnessing the ugly drama surrounding the Commonwealth Games village in Delhi, I am no longer surprised when well-meaning plans are badly executed. In Bangalore too, lack of association of stakeholders and faulty implementation have been the bane. It is not the result of rapid growth alone.

Exponential growth, yes, Bangalore did have, but then the government and civic bodies had enough time to tackle problems born of this aspect.

The chaos that plagues Bangalore today is a direct result of the authorities merrily slumbering through the mega-growth phase. Today, the efforts are made, but each civic body works towards improvement measures in isolation rather than in association with others. The city, therefore, is hurtling towards a mindless growth.

Urban planning has to include participatory, inclusive techniques at the planning and execution stages. Unfortunately, in India, a lot is planned but barely anything is executed accordingly.  Urban planning in Bangalore  faces problems such as a fast growing population, increasing migration from other towns and cities, resultant lack of basic amenities, growing demand for land, and inadequate infrastructure.

Any urban planning measure in Bangalore needs to keep in mind the various problems facing the city, find ways to address the same,  assess future needs and start planning measures to address the requirements before they reach the proportions they have today.

Urban planning involves a number of stakeholders  such as real estate, energy, sanitation, transport, environment etc. For the process to be effective and successful in the long term, it is important to involve the various stakeholders in the planning process. 

Long-term objectives for each sector need to be drawn up keeping the best interest of the residents in mind. The individual plans for each sector need to be drawn up against the backdrop of the larger planning framework for the city. It is only when all stakeholders work together that the city can grow in a seamlessly planned manner.

Next is inclusive planning. While working towards this objective, it is also imperative to include the rapidly growing peri urban or semi urban areas in the plan. Urbanisation is spreading rapidly to the city outskirts while the infrastructure remains woefully inadequate. It remains confined to the central areas.
As the city develops and grows, public-private partnership is urgently needed.  

— The writer is director of marketing, Mantri Developers,
 Bangalore