Deccan Chronicle 10.03.2011
Madam mayor: city has high hopes
March 10th, 2011
A city like Bengaluru needs a vibrant, intelligent mayor
who is well-versed with the city’s problems and adept at finding
quick-fix solutions. And undoubtedly, that’s what Bengalureans will be
looking forward to.
For the next term, Bengaluru will be getting a woman mayor
since the post has been reserved for SC (women) as per the roster. No
wanting to risk antagonizing party workers from the community or the
community itself, the ruling BJP might give in to the roster and have an
SC (woman) as corporator, said sources in the BJP.
Going by the roster, three corporators from the community stand a chance.
The probables, Ms Roopa Ramesh (Billekahalli ward), Ms
Sharadamma (Shettihalli ward) and Ms J. Bhuvaneshwari (Sarvajnanagar
ward), all first-timers, have hardly been vocal in the BBMP council
meetings.
Among the three, Ms Roopa Ramesh is said to be a better
choice, but the chances of her becoming mayor are slim as the current
mayor is from South Bengaluru and Roopa also belongs to this
constituency, said sources.
The erstwhile BMP has had women mayors, some of whom were Ms Prema Kariyappa, Ms Mumtaz Begum and Ms Indira.
“We have a ceremonial mayor’s post, whether the person is
capable or not. We follow a system of governance based, not on
leadership or capability, but on chance and opportunity”, said ABIDe
member and IIM-B faculty Ashwin Mahesh.
However, the present system should be changed to ensure
better administration. Since the present system is in vogue, either the
BBMP commissioner or a leader from the BJP would have to guide the
corporator, he felt.
Ideally, the system should be changed and the Bengaluru
Metropolitan Region Governance Bill must be introduced to get a
competent mayor with executive powers who can be in office for a
convincing period.
