NammaRailu 2010 Roundtable - Press Release

Press Release

Monday, Aug 30, 2010: CiSTUP, IISc, and Praja.in organized a round table event, Namma Railu 2010 to discuss Commuter Rail System (CRS) as a mobility solution to enable growth of Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (BMR). The event was chaired by Dr A Ravindra, Advisor to the CM. Mr Krishna Byregowda, MLA, several senior officials from transportation and infrastructure departments of Government of Karnataka (GoK), and senior officials from Bangalore division of South Western Railway were present.

The group agreed that a CRS run on existing railway tracks can help connect Bengaluru to surrounding towns like Bangarapet, Chikballapur, Tumkur, Anekal or Ramanagara, etc. Fast and reliable connectivity to surrounding towns can help in de-congestion of the city as well as better planning of BMR.

Recognizing that CRS project proposals have been discussed for well over a decade now, the participants engaged in a discussion on what is required to make CRS a reality for Bengaluru and surrounding regions. Discussions began on the right note with Mr V Madhu, principal secretary, Infrastructure Development Department (IDD) stating that GoK is keen on the project and had earlier announced support to Railways. Some expressed the opinion that lack of enthusiastic participation from Railways is one reason why CRS has not seen serious implementation efforts so far.

South Western Railway officials pointed out that railway assets in the city are being used to meet the demand for long distance trains and there is not enough spare capacity to run additional services on them. Some participants observed that it may be possible to optimize the usage of railway assets in the city via investments like automated signaling.

The approach of looking at Commuter Rail inside the crowded city area, and inside Outer Ring Road, separately from the same in the BMRDA area, was also brought up. Some participants observed that it may be good enough to start with a plan to connect surrounding towns with emerging hubs like Byappanahalli, Yeshwantpur or Hebbal. BMTC and Namma Metro would be ready and can provide the onward mobility within the central area of the city.

The round table ended with the agreement that a smaller group of state government and South Western Railways officials come together and produce a Terms of Reference (TOR) to establish the common ground and framework for detailing CRS as a solution. Mr Ravindra requested Prof Sitharam, chairman, CiSTUP to anchor the group and submit the TOR to him within 6 weeks.

Supplements

A partial list of those who attended the Round Table is included below for reference (in the order in which they spoke):
Dr A Ravindra, Advisor to the CM, Urban Affairs
Shri V Madhu, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Dept, Govt of Karnataka,
Shri Krishna Byregowda, MLA
Shri M K Shankar Linge Gowda, IAS, Secretary to Govt, Transport Dept.
Dr.Ashwin Mahesh, ABIDe, IIM, Bangalore
Shri N Sivasailam, IAS, Managing Director, BMRC
Shri B S Sudhir Chandra, Director (P&P), BMRC
Shri N P Sharma, CE, BMRC
Shri Haldar, Chief Passenger Traffic Member, Hubli
Shri Sudhanshu Mani, DRM, SWR, Bangalore Div.
Shri Babu, Sr.DOM, SWR, Bangalore Div.
Prof.M N Sreehari, Advisor to Government, Traffic, Transport & Infrastructure
Shri P E Vivek Menon, Managing Director, Invicus Engineering Co.
Shri Prakash Mundoth, FKCCI
Prof T G Sitaram, Chairman, CiSTUP, IISc.
Members of Praja.in

For more details:
On the event including photos, please visit http://praja.in/en/blog/naveen/2010/08/30/namma-railu-event-minutes-meeting
On the Commuter Rail Initiative including the Call To Action report please visit http://praja.in/en/nammarailu

About CiSTUP

Centre for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) is a joint initiative of Government of Karnataka and India Institute of Science (IISc) to develop a center for unique expertise in the areas of infrastructure, sustainable transportation and urban planning. CiSTUP engages in several activities such as basic and applied research and development, academic activities, training programmes, workshops and consultancy projects in the areas of infrastructure, sustainable transportation and urban planning.

About Praja.in

Praja.in (www.praja.in) is non-profit citizen networking platform that promotes constructive discourse and encourages engagement on local civic issues. It is a growing Internet based local community with 4000 registered members and over 35000 unique visitors every month

Bengaluru Commuter Rail - Call to Action - Reprint 2

RECLAIM BANGALORE

Extending an invitation to all concerned citizens of Bangalore, to join a common platform to RECLAIM BANGALORE.

Bangalore is today, arguably one of Asia's fastest growing cities. We are also fast becoming the most polluted, the most congested, the most unsafe on the road. For all the public money spent on widening roads, building flyovers, increasing the number of buses, are we moving any faster, safer or more comfortably? Why are our roads some of the most unsafe for pedestrians in the world? What happened to Bangalore, the garden city? Are we a Sustainable City?

Its time for Bangalore's civil society to find a way to engage in open and meaningful dialogue with our city planners and administrators. Time to jointly analyze problems and find solutions.

Yes, It's time.

introducing

Bangalore's first Unconference focusing on sustainable transportation solutions.

MobiliCity will bring together urban planners, policy makers, environmentalists and concerned citizens to:

• Find a framework in which to assess our current trends in transport planning and policy in Bangalore
• Look at best practices in urban transportation design around the world
• Discuss the role of pedestrianisation, cycling, mass public transit and other low-carbon transportation alternatives in fostering sustainability
• Promote free, open, goal oriented discussion amongst the city's civil society

How you can be a part of MobiliCity

1. Write to us with ideas you have on this issue
2. Register to lead a session / talk on any issues concerning sustainable transportation.
3. Volunteer to help in organization of the event.
4. Turn up at the event and just be part of it.

Date: Nov 21, 2009. Time: 9:30am - 5pm Venue: CiSTUP, IISc, Bangalore

For more details check out mobilicity.praja.in
Contact: Manjari Vishnoi 9611348339
send a mail to: mobilicity@praja.in

Lets Reclaim Bangalore!

Lessons from Israel

Story from Israel... what I like is how the mandatory military service has imbibed qualities for success in its people.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Un)Real Estate

Almost 5 per cent of GDP is contributed by the housing sector, and in the next few years it is expected to rise to 6 per cent. Moreover, the construction sector has also been responsible for the development of over 250 ancillary industries such as cement, steel, paints, brick, timber, building materials, etc. A study by a credit rating agency ICRA shows that the construction industry ranks third among the 14 major sectors in terms of direct, indirect and induced effects in all sectors of the Indian economy. A unit increase in expenditure in the real estate sector can generate a fivefold increase in income.

Yet this is one of the most unregulated markets in the country with shady deals and obscene profits ruling the roost. This lassiez faire sector has allowed anti social elements to get in and muscle power to determine who get the most. This has also led to high prices forcing the unaffordable consumers out of the market. There are massive frauds occuring regularly where promises are not kept and the consumer is left in the lurch. While easy access to credit multiplied this boom it also raised the risk levels for the banks in case of a bust in the bubble and consequently devaulation of the properties.

So what needs to change?

Currently, land, a ‘state’ subject, is under the jurisdiction of the local governments. There is a kaleidoscope of interwoven state, centre and local laws dealing with every parcel of land. This means that there are varying rules, regulations, standards, practices, from town to town across India. The simple concept of replicating ‘best practices’ from town to town across the country does not exist due to a fragmented legal framework. - The Hindu

People take advantages of these loopholes and mostly out for a quick buck. Scams have become so common and brazen that consumers have no confidence in ANY real estate transaction irrespective of how much checking and verification has been done.

Here is a recent scam from a company which made a splash in print and TV. I still remember them dishing out cars as a freebie in return for purchasing a flat from them inspite of retaining the rates at the same levels as the rest in the area. They even featured on TV channels for their freebies.

How long is lassiez faire going to last and where is the regulator?
Real Estate Management (Regulation and Control) Bill is being formulated by the central govt for Delhi and is expected to serve as a reference and model for the rest of the states to follow. It is now being discussed and various objections are being raised in various fora and industry associations. Some others have clearly come out in support. Clearly regardless of the objections the move to have a regulator is a definitely positive step and hope the state overnments follow likewise.

An authority that can issue licences, be responsible for renewal of licences to developers, ratings of developers, architects, contractors and real-estate consultants would have to be set up. Whether it is a regulator which is set up under the aegis of the government or whether self regulation by industry associations is the way forward, the need for some of the above activities to be carried out by a professional body is imperative for sustainable growth of this sector. - The Hindu

Karnataka has taken a step of setting up a certifying system. The need for that is clearly because the registration of deeds and documents does not guarantee the title of the property as it operates on the principle of presumptive rights. The prospective buyer has to consult various sources such as past transactions, mortgage deeds, revenue records and encumbrance certificate to verify the title. Hopefully this is a first step in a series of steps to bring credibility and professionalism in this sector.

Transformation of a city

Bangalore has been thru exponential growth in the past three decades. It has mostly been driven by the IT/ITES industry. Most of this development has been uncontrolled. There were no plans that administrators worked towards. There was no vision of how they wanted the city to grow. They reacted mostly. The growth of automobiles have outgrown the capacity of the city to support them. Humans have lost out to automobiles. Partly because the administrators were decades behind the demands both in capability and capacity and were unprepared for this growth. Now they are so behind they only have time to catch up and firefight the troubles.

Not too many people believe this can be turned around. Like Prof T G Sitharam, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IISc, told Indian Express: “We do not want to touch Bagalore right now. The city is in a mess and there is not much scope of development.".

But it cant be all that bad. How do we turn the city around? Are there any examples in other countries we can borrow? The video tries to explain how some cities have refocussed their priorities and have emerged more citizen friendly. Can this work for Bangalore?

Have we finally caught up?

ET reports, in a recent conclave Jason Pontin, the charismatic editor and publisher of MIT's "Technology Review" - the publication of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - confidently proclaims that India is going to dominate the innovation space.

The nature of the technologies emerging from innovation labs around the world today is completely democratic, having the power to touch billions - the literate and the unlettered, the affluent as well as those at the bottom of the pyramid.

If the Indian innovators, tuned to the needs of the less advantaged in their country, are coming out with technologies to address this space, then large multinational corporations, admittedly driven by marketing compulsions, are also now focusing on this segment.

Most of these innovations have been in the field of IT. This is because of the international exposure the knowledge workers have got and their understanding of the enterprenurial spirit of the west. But it is quickly spreading to other domains as well.

Traditionally Innovation has been the preserve of the west. Availability of capital and the ability to take risks made them pioneers in consumer R&D. Since independence India's R&D was government driven and focusssed on basic sciences. A closed and socialistic economy with not much of a consumer movement didnt help either. The opening up of the economy in 1991 has brought with it consumerism as well as availability of capital. It was still a trickle in the early days but is now changing rapidly with access to internet and the blossoming of the knowledge economy.

Maybe Nandan Nilekani's famous demographic dividend, is finally beginning to pay off. Speaking of which he got away easy on my favourite show

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Nandan Nilekani
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Important Things w/ Demetri Martin Political Humor