Activists see red over BBMP bid to privatise Church Street

BENGALURU: Members of the Forum for Urban Governance on Friday called for a halt to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) calling for tenders to take over the operation and maintenance of Church Street, from Brigade Road to St Mark's Road, for commercial advertisements. They claim it's the first instance of a road being 'privatised' in the country,
Two days before the poll model code of conduct was enforced, BBMP, on March 26, called for tenders that would put road management, including regular sweeping and clearing of garbage and storm water drains, removing unauthorized and hanging optic fibre cables, ensuring round-the-clock security with four guards at any given time, no footpath encroachment by street vendors and removal of unauthorized occupation of footpaths and maintainance of the landscape.

Activists said this amounts to handing over the basic obligatory duties of BBMP and leaving matters such as street vendor eviction, which must follow due procedure, to a private agency.

Reshma, a forum member, said there was a threat to street vendors. "Many have been working there for seven to eight years. It's their livelihood. Matters of eviction must be dealt sensitively by BBMP and not outsourced to private parties who don't have jurisdiction in the area," she said.

Kshithij Urs, convener of the forum, said privatising Church Street was akin to creating exclusive zones within the city where entry could be controlled. "What's the need to station guards on a public road all day? This decision is in total disregard of the very idea of roads as commons, as something that belongs to everyone. This is different from previous instances of partnering with corporates to ensure upkeep of skywalks as all activities being outsourced are primary obligatory functions of a city corporation," he said.

A senior BBMP official downplayed the tender terms on removal of encroachment and said the motive was to create an exclusive zone prioritizing pedestrians. "The aim is maintenance of the road. As for encroachments, we want the agency to be the BBMP's eyes and prevent hawkers from making a permanent home. We won't be spending a single penny but will get it maintained efficiently for five years. The company can either pocket or share the revenue from ads as per the tender agreement," he said.