Mock BBMP Elections 21st Feb 2010 10AM Town hall
In view of Government of Karnataka's continued reluctance to hold immediate elections to the BBMP, LokSatta Party Karnataka has decided to express its anguish via a mock election to be conducted on Sunday, 21st of February 2010 - the earlier notified date for BBMP elections. LokSatta will open a mock polling booth at Town Hall at 10:00 AM and conduct the proceedings of an election.
The program is intended to highlight the casual attitude of the Government towards grassroots democracy. Speaking on behalf of all the citizens of Namma Bengaluru, who are unrepresented in BBMP for more than three years, LokSatta intends to send a loud and clear message to the Government to fulfill its constitutional obligation and adhere to High Court ruling by conducting elections before March 30th, 2010.
LokSatta invites all concerend citizens, political parties, civic organizations to express their strong desire for BBMP elections by voting in this mock poll.
For further details, please contact C. N. Deepak (94495 59451) or K.Ramalakshmi (98458 48746)
Loksatta Karnataka
http://loksattakarnataka.org/
http://twitter.com/loksattablr
empower lokayukta
empower lokayukta
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
LOKSATTA GREATER HYDERABAD (GHMC) ELECTION 6 POINT MANIFESTO
VOTE FOR LOKSATTA FOR A BETTER HYDERABAD CITY GOVERNMENT
6 POINT MANIFESTO
Death sentence for drinking water? Not Acceptable
Safe drinking water for every area in Hyderabad
Reverse Osmosis Plants in polluted areas
Birth and Death Certificate. House Plan, Property Tax, Water Connection
Tatkal service for urgent resolution
Fixed time to address requests for civic services
Rs 100 per day late fee in case of delay in resolution
Identification of all issues within the colonies and bastis
90% of issues to be resolved within 1 year
Fix all major issues within the 5 year term
Happy Hyderabad. Livable Hyderabad.
Footpaths and parking facilities in all areas
Strengthen Public transport system
Traffic Jam free Hyderabad
Parks and sports fields in
Community police to ensure safety and security
LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR EVERY WARD
Government at your doorstep. Governance you can see
Rs 2 Cr funds directly allotted per division annually
Work on bringing Rs 1000 per head annual state government funding
The ward manifesto prepared by CITIZENS will dictate how the funds are spent. You get to decide how to address local issues locally.
Elected Metropolitan Planning Committee
Co-ordination of various city services. Central planning
Single umbrella for services such as Metro Water works, HMDA, HUDA
REVERSE OSMOSIS : SAFE DRINKING WATER. NO MORE DEATHS
Death sentence for drinking water? Not Acceptable
Safe drinking water for every area in Hyderabad
Reverse Osmosis Plants in polluted areas
CITIZENS CHARTERS
24x7 toll free Call Center for Handling Public Grievances
Birth and Death Certificate. House Plan, Property Tax, Water Connection
Tatkal service for urgent resolution
Fixed time to address requests for civic services
Rs 100 per day late fee in case of delay in resolution
Division Agenda: Local solutions for local problems
Identification of all issues within the colonies and bastis
90% of issues to be resolved within 1 year
Fix all major issues within the 5 year term
Footpaths and parking facilities in all areas
Strengthen Public transport system
Traffic Jam free Hyderabad
Parks and sports fields in
Community police to ensure safety and security
Government at your doorstep. Governance you can see
Rs 2 Cr funds directly allotted per division annually
Work on bringing Rs 1000 per head annual state government funding
The ward manifesto prepared by CITIZENS will dictate how the funds are spent. You get to decide how to address local issues locally.
METROPOLITAN PLANNING COMMITTEE
Let's make Hyderabad the best 21st century cityElected Metropolitan Planning Committee
Co-ordination of various city services. Central planning
Single umbrella for services such as Metro Water works, HMDA, HUDA
Loksatta The journey so far
Taking a step back to look at Loksatta past, present..
More details on www.loksattakarnataka.org and updates on twitter.com/loksattablr
Lok Satta Party was established after a decade of work by its founder, Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, and others to create a people's movement that is alert to the pressing needs of today, and the genuine opportunities of tomorrow. At Lok Satta, we recognise that the great reforms we need in India cannot be achieved by mere tinkering of the existing political system. Instead, we need a whole new culture of politics. The aims and objectives of Lok Satta Party are to establish this new political culture which will place the citizen at the centre of governance; and to create a political, economic and social environment which will ensure equal opportunities for vertical mobility to all sections of society, irrespective of caste, ethnicity, religion, or gender.
Dr JP, as he is popularly known, served as a distinguished officer of the Indian Administrative Service for 17 years, before deciding to leave and launch the Lok Satta movement. In over a decade of work outside the government, he has won the hearts and minds of the people of Andhra Pradesh, and received repeated acclaim as a smart, purposeful and public-spirited leader. The organisation's reputation for integrity and perseverance has also created a clear impact, and the potential transformation of our political culture is now possible, thanks to the pioneering work of the last decade.
During the last 2 years, Lok Satta has been contesting elections within Andhra Pradesh, and now is increasingly focused on elections outside the state too. Our new politics is gaining momentum, as witnessed by JP's recent election to the Andhra Pradesh assembly from Kukatpally constituency, with 71,000 votes. In the upcoming Hyderabad Corporation (GHMC) elections, we believe we will do even better than we did in the assembly elections, where we received 8% of the vote city-wide. And we are actively working to follow this up with other electoral contests in Bangalore (BBMP) and other cities. Our work in Karnataka can be followed online at this URL - www.loksattakarnataka.org and on www.loksatta.org
We invite you, as a citizen concerned about various issues of development and governance, to follow the Lok Satta story, provide your inputs to guide our growth, and to participate in this journey. The destiny of India will be shaped by how much each of us is a part of reaching for it, and we hope you will join us in this quest.
Dr JP, as he is popularly known, served as a distinguished officer of the Indian Administrative Service for 17 years, before deciding to leave and launch the Lok Satta movement. In over a decade of work outside the government, he has won the hearts and minds of the people of Andhra Pradesh, and received repeated acclaim as a smart, purposeful and public-spirited leader. The organisation's reputation for integrity and perseverance has also created a clear impact, and the potential transformation of our political culture is now possible, thanks to the pioneering work of the last decade.
During the last 2 years, Lok Satta has been contesting elections within Andhra Pradesh, and now is increasingly focused on elections outside the state too. Our new politics is gaining momentum, as witnessed by JP's recent election to the Andhra Pradesh assembly from Kukatpally constituency, with 71,000 votes. In the upcoming Hyderabad Corporation (GHMC) elections, we believe we will do even better than we did in the assembly elections, where we received 8% of the vote city-wide. And we are actively working to follow this up with other electoral contests in Bangalore (BBMP) and other cities. Our work in Karnataka can be followed online at this URL - www.loksattakarnataka.org and on www.loksatta.org
We invite you, as a citizen concerned about various issues of development and governance, to follow the Lok Satta story, provide your inputs to guide our growth, and to participate in this journey. The destiny of India will be shaped by how much each of us is a part of reaching for it, and we hope you will join us in this quest.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Loksatta in Bangalore
The LokSatta Movement started in 1996 brought about significant results in governance and democratic reforms including RTI, disclosure of assets and criminal record, campaign funding reforms and many more.
Loksatta Political Party was formed in 2006 in order to establish a new political culture for new generation. Yes, we are in Politics!
Loksatta Party became household name in Andhra Pradesh during 2009 Elections. Founder and National Convenor, Dr. Jaya Prakash Narayan (IAS) is now an M.L.A in the State Assembly and is voicing the opinions of millions of common people in the legislature.
Loksatta Party is now in Karnataka, with the sole aim of making namma citizens the center of governance. .
We welcome all citizens who dare to dream for a better India and willing to be the change they want to see.
Loksatta Party Karnataka State Unit
64/1 JayaMahal Extension 1st Main Bengaluru
www.loksattakarnataka.org +91 94499 94499
www.loksatta.org
Updates on twitter.com/loksattablr
Loksatta Political Party was formed in 2006 in order to establish a new political culture for new generation. Yes, we are in Politics!
Loksatta Party became household name in Andhra Pradesh during 2009 Elections. Founder and National Convenor, Dr. Jaya Prakash Narayan (IAS) is now an M.L.A in the State Assembly and is voicing the opinions of millions of common people in the legislature.
Loksatta Party is now in Karnataka, with the sole aim of making namma citizens the center of governance. .
We welcome all citizens who dare to dream for a better India and willing to be the change they want to see.
Loksatta Party Karnataka State Unit
64/1 JayaMahal Extension 1st Main Bengaluru
www.loksattakarnataka.org +91 94499 94499
www.loksatta.org
Updates on twitter.com/loksattablr
Friday, October 2, 2009
Loksatta Suggestions on Rain Water Harvesting in Bangalore
From: Loksatta Party Karnataka State Unit, 64/1 1st Main Jayamahal Extension, Bangalore
To: The Chairman, BWSSB 1st Floor, Cauvery Bhavan,K.G.Road Bangalore-560009
Dear Sir/Madam,
Loksatta Party welcomes the recent amendment to the BWSSB act making rainwater harvesting mandatory in Bangalore. The legislature must be commended for passing the legislation which will help in recharging depleting ground water table as well as help storm water drainage system to cope with heavy rainfall. The BWSSB circulated rules for this amendment last week and invited feedback from public.
To: The Chairman, BWSSB 1st Floor, Cauvery Bhavan,K.G.Road Bangalore-560009
Dear Sir/Madam,
Loksatta Party welcomes the recent amendment to the BWSSB act making rainwater harvesting mandatory in Bangalore. The legislature must be commended for passing the legislation which will help in recharging depleting ground water table as well as help storm water drainage system to cope with heavy rainfall. The BWSSB circulated rules for this amendment last week and invited feedback from public.
Loksatta party strongly feels that in order for active public participation in review of draft regulations, more time is necessary and requests the deadline to be extended by 2 weeks.
Loksatta party has the following suggestions to the draft regulations:
1. We think the amendment has a serious short coming. Existing buildings built on sites of more than 2400 square feet are expected to implement rainwater harvesting within a time period of 9 months from the commencement of the act. Similarly, all new constructions on a sital area of more than 1200 sq. feet are expected to implement rain water harvesting. Loksatta Party is of the opinion that 9 months is too short a time for completing installation of water harvesting in all applicable buildings in Bangalore because
a. Licensed plumbing contractors and their staff need to be trained in the scientific implementation and best practices
Loksatta party has the following suggestions to the draft regulations:
1. We think the amendment has a serious short coming. Existing buildings built on sites of more than 2400 square feet are expected to implement rainwater harvesting within a time period of 9 months from the commencement of the act. Similarly, all new constructions on a sital area of more than 1200 sq. feet are expected to implement rain water harvesting. Loksatta Party is of the opinion that 9 months is too short a time for completing installation of water harvesting in all applicable buildings in Bangalore because
a. Licensed plumbing contractors and their staff need to be trained in the scientific implementation and best practices
b. Public awareness and education program must be part of the implementation so that implementation is done effectively.
2. The rule makes no distinction between small and large consumers of water. The current draft rules require a RWH storage or recharge capacity of 20 liters per square meter of building roof area. It would be advisable to put a larger burden on bigger consumers. A larger requirement could be placed on multi family dwellings or multi storey buildings. Similarly, large consumers of water could be asked to provide a higher provision for rain water storage and ground water recharge.
3. Loksatta Party suggests that government reconsider the enforcement authority being vested on BWSSB. BWSSB may not be appropriately staffed and capable of effectively enforcing the rapid addition of rain water harvesting systems across the city in comprehensive manner with fairness and transparency. The current amendment puts the onus on the BWSSB to enforce the implementation of systems in non-compliant buildings and to recover costs through the land revenue department. The government should ask itself on whether this idea is really practical.
4. Finally, since the rules envisage the recharge of ground water through open wells and borewells, it is imperative to have clearly defined standards as well as inspection to ensure that surface pollution does not contaminate ground water through poor design. In the normal course, water percolates through the soil and has a chance to be cleaned off many of its contaminants through this process before hitting the ground water table. The direct recharge process poses a danger of ground water pollution if not implemented properly. All these issues must be carefully considered. Proper training of the implementing plumbers and contractors as well as inspection and monitoring is vital for the safety and enhancement of our ground water supplies through rain water harvesting.
The government and the BWSSB would be well advised to give some more thought to the aforementioned aspects of the new rain water harvesting law. The Lok Satta party looks forward to the opportunity to work with the administration to promote the successful implementation of rain water harvesting in Bangalore and shortly and the whole state in the future.
sincerely,
K.Rama Lakshmi
Convenor,
Loksatta Party Karnataka State Unit
Phone: 94499 94499
E-Mail: info@loksattakarnataka.org
Web: www.loksattakarnataka.org
2. The rule makes no distinction between small and large consumers of water. The current draft rules require a RWH storage or recharge capacity of 20 liters per square meter of building roof area. It would be advisable to put a larger burden on bigger consumers. A larger requirement could be placed on multi family dwellings or multi storey buildings. Similarly, large consumers of water could be asked to provide a higher provision for rain water storage and ground water recharge.
3. Loksatta Party suggests that government reconsider the enforcement authority being vested on BWSSB. BWSSB may not be appropriately staffed and capable of effectively enforcing the rapid addition of rain water harvesting systems across the city in comprehensive manner with fairness and transparency. The current amendment puts the onus on the BWSSB to enforce the implementation of systems in non-compliant buildings and to recover costs through the land revenue department. The government should ask itself on whether this idea is really practical.
4. Finally, since the rules envisage the recharge of ground water through open wells and borewells, it is imperative to have clearly defined standards as well as inspection to ensure that surface pollution does not contaminate ground water through poor design. In the normal course, water percolates through the soil and has a chance to be cleaned off many of its contaminants through this process before hitting the ground water table. The direct recharge process poses a danger of ground water pollution if not implemented properly. All these issues must be carefully considered. Proper training of the implementing plumbers and contractors as well as inspection and monitoring is vital for the safety and enhancement of our ground water supplies through rain water harvesting.
The government and the BWSSB would be well advised to give some more thought to the aforementioned aspects of the new rain water harvesting law. The Lok Satta party looks forward to the opportunity to work with the administration to promote the successful implementation of rain water harvesting in Bangalore and shortly and the whole state in the future.
sincerely,
K.Rama Lakshmi
Convenor,
Loksatta Party Karnataka State Unit
Phone: 94499 94499
E-Mail: info@loksattakarnataka.org
Web: www.loksattakarnataka.org
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Executive Member Training : Katari Srinivasa Rao
Katari Srinivasa Rao, General Secretary of Loksatta Party visited Bangalore office on Sept 13th 2009
We invited him to Bangalore to give us his inputs on building the party here and
share his valuable experiences for the past 12 years he has been associated with Loksatta.
All LSPK Executive Members were invited to this training/interaction with Mr. Katari.
The session started at 10:30AM and ended at 3:30PM with a brief lunch break. Katari spoke on a wide range of topics; from organizational activity to leadership; from doing field level surveys to campaigning for elections. From preparing manifestos to posters and other material. Almost every aspect of his talk is drawn from personal experiences from recent past and this made the entire
event extremely interesting and all of us had a great time listening, learning and asking questions.
The main focus was on identifying and running political activities. Katari enthralled us with real life experiences from field and every example he quoted made a great impact on all of us. It is indeed a great experience for all members to listen to Mr. Katari who took on the role of a Professor
(some of you know, he is actually a Computer Science Professor at CBIT but taking a rather long break from his faculty position at the moment) and had his students actively engaged in listening and interacting for more than 4 hours. About 45 executive members of LSPK attended this session.
More Photos posted here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/loksattakarnataka/KatariInLSPBangaloreOffice
We invited him to Bangalore to give us his inputs on building the party here and
share his valuable experiences for the past 12 years he has been associated with Loksatta.
All LSPK Executive Members were invited to this training/interaction with Mr. Katari.
The session started at 10:30AM and ended at 3:30PM with a brief lunch break. Katari spoke on a wide range of topics; from organizational activity to leadership; from doing field level surveys to campaigning for elections. From preparing manifestos to posters and other material. Almost every aspect of his talk is drawn from personal experiences from recent past and this made the entire
event extremely interesting and all of us had a great time listening, learning and asking questions.
The main focus was on identifying and running political activities. Katari enthralled us with real life experiences from field and every example he quoted made a great impact on all of us. It is indeed a great experience for all members to listen to Mr. Katari who took on the role of a Professor
(some of you know, he is actually a Computer Science Professor at CBIT but taking a rather long break from his faculty position at the moment) and had his students actively engaged in listening and interacting for more than 4 hours. About 45 executive members of LSPK attended this session.
More Photos posted here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/loksattakarnataka/KatariInLSPBangaloreOffice
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
JP in Bengaluru : A quick summary
It has been a wonderful weekend at Loksatta Karnataka Chapter. Dr JP was in town for several events, a conference in Jain University, a talk at IISc (Indian Institute of Science), several press interviews (see our website ) and LSP Members meet.
Details will be posted later, but I realized lot of folks are looking for some news from here browsing the Orkut Official Loksatta community (I discovered this just today, thanks to Raj, sounds like an exciting place to be for all of us LSP members! More power to Orkut!)
The main event undoubtedly is our very first 'members only' meet on Saturday. See [Pictures here ]
When we first decided to do this meeting for members only, we were little worried about the response since attending a public meeting (like we had on the 17th July in Koramangala ) is quite different from enrolling as a member (that too with not a user friendly title "Executive Member") and being a card carrying member of a political party. But we now learned not to underestimate the passion for LSP!
It was overwhelming to see more than 150 "Executive" members (did I mention 'Executive?') all in one room with Dr. JP for more than 4 hours. Best part is many of them stayed long after meeting got over
to chat with others and see what they can do next! We are certain that this meeting is going to make a huge difference for our upcoming activities and help us go to the next level!
We started the event with couple of speeches from LSP Karnataka Members. Mr Yogiah, who is one of the first members of LSP in Bangalore, spoke passionately about the door-to-door campaign he started along with a bunch of other volunteers. His team's experience has been terrific in creating the awareness about LSP with local folks who might have never heard of LSP before. Mr. Yogiah is ready to contest the upcoming BBMP polls! Dr. Meenakshi who is renowned Gynecologist and also spearheading solid waste management activities in Malleshwaram spoke about why she is willing to come into public life and our duties as responsible citizens and leaders. Dr. JP announced formally that Dr. Meenakshi became an executive member and will be contesting the upcoming BBMP elections in Bangalore. This is indeed a big boost for LSP and we look forward to the upcoming election.
Dr. JP started his speech by lighting a lamp to celebrate Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday and speaking briefly about fundamental rights (fascinated by his deep reverence to our constitution)
and our executive membership model and course of action for near term future.
Since this is designed to be an 'internal' meeting, the members asked extremely relevant questions about building the party, taking our message to people and highlighting our weaknesses etc. We will be posting a summary of questions and responses soon..
One of the common questions we get from new members is 'So, I became a member, what do I do now?' or "I have very little time, how can I contribute?" - we designed the venue in such a way that there are booths set up (somewhat like a conference exhibition) for each of the 'teams' we have created here in Bangalore. For example, a booth for 'Fund Raising', 'Volunteer Management' "Media and PR" , 'Women's group' etc.
We put up brief descriptions of what these groups are supposed to do and volunteers were present to explain the role of each of these groups. New members could discuss with existing members, understand
what the expectations are and then sign up to one of the groups they want to contribute their time to.
Based on my own conversations with more than 40 new faces, I think this went well. Folks appreciated the clarity and our attempt to make them join a group of their preference rather than asking them on work on something they may not feel comfortable with or not have much passion about!
Many thanks to Mr. Purandhar for providing lunch for all the members at the venue.
More later..
Details will be posted later, but I realized lot of folks are looking for some news from here browsing the Orkut Official Loksatta community (I discovered this just today, thanks to Raj, sounds like an exciting place to be for all of us LSP members! More power to Orkut!)
The main event undoubtedly is our very first 'members only' meet on Saturday. See [Pictures here ]
When we first decided to do this meeting for members only, we were little worried about the response since attending a public meeting (like we had on the 17th July in Koramangala ) is quite different from enrolling as a member (that too with not a user friendly title "Executive Member") and being a card carrying member of a political party. But we now learned not to underestimate the passion for LSP!
It was overwhelming to see more than 150 "Executive" members (did I mention 'Executive?') all in one room with Dr. JP for more than 4 hours. Best part is many of them stayed long after meeting got over
to chat with others and see what they can do next! We are certain that this meeting is going to make a huge difference for our upcoming activities and help us go to the next level!
We started the event with couple of speeches from LSP Karnataka Members. Mr Yogiah, who is one of the first members of LSP in Bangalore, spoke passionately about the door-to-door campaign he started along with a bunch of other volunteers. His team's experience has been terrific in creating the awareness about LSP with local folks who might have never heard of LSP before. Mr. Yogiah is ready to contest the upcoming BBMP polls! Dr. Meenakshi who is renowned Gynecologist and also spearheading solid waste management activities in Malleshwaram spoke about why she is willing to come into public life and our duties as responsible citizens and leaders. Dr. JP announced formally that Dr. Meenakshi became an executive member and will be contesting the upcoming BBMP elections in Bangalore. This is indeed a big boost for LSP and we look forward to the upcoming election.
Dr. JP started his speech by lighting a lamp to celebrate Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday and speaking briefly about fundamental rights (fascinated by his deep reverence to our constitution)
and our executive membership model and course of action for near term future.
Since this is designed to be an 'internal' meeting, the members asked extremely relevant questions about building the party, taking our message to people and highlighting our weaknesses etc. We will be posting a summary of questions and responses soon..
One of the common questions we get from new members is 'So, I became a member, what do I do now?' or "I have very little time, how can I contribute?" - we designed the venue in such a way that there are booths set up (somewhat like a conference exhibition) for each of the 'teams' we have created here in Bangalore. For example, a booth for 'Fund Raising', 'Volunteer Management' "Media and PR" , 'Women's group' etc.
We put up brief descriptions of what these groups are supposed to do and volunteers were present to explain the role of each of these groups. New members could discuss with existing members, understand
what the expectations are and then sign up to one of the groups they want to contribute their time to.
Based on my own conversations with more than 40 new faces, I think this went well. Folks appreciated the clarity and our attempt to make them join a group of their preference rather than asking them on work on something they may not feel comfortable with or not have much passion about!
Many thanks to Mr. Purandhar for providing lunch for all the members at the venue.
More later..
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