Can the Government of the people, by the people and more importantly for the people, ignore the voice of the people in a democracy is the moot question this article throws up. Public consultation is important and there will always be dissenting voices. But when they are overwhelming, is the government justified in unilaterally overruling public sentiment?
Beda” “Beda” “Beda”… The shouts of ‘No’ ‘No’ ‘No’ reverberated in the close confines of the Rotary Club on Lavelle Road in Bengaluru on October 23. The 200 odd people in club wanted nothing to do with the steel flyover that the government was determined to push through.
The crowd at the ‘public consultation’ comprising volunteers, technical experts on architecture,transport, sustainable development and common residents were brought together by the Citizens for Bengaluru, a group of volunteers spearheading the protests against the flyover. A week or so before the Lavelle Club meeting, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had backed the steel flyover. “Of the responses we have received (299), 73 per cent (219) have supported the steel flyover project,” he said. “The government is not open to rethinking on the project.”
This led groups of volunteers to take to the streets to garner votes against the project. In two days’ time, there were 200% more votes against the project than those quoted by the government in its favour, ‘41,184 Steel Flyover Beda votes’. Thereafter, the government’s refusal to hold fresh consultations with the residents brought to the fore the role of, and the importance given to public opinion, by governments. Public hearing has been recognized as an essential element in Environment Impact Assessment. The EIA notification was amended in 1997 to make public hearings for development projects mandatory.
There have been instances when certain projects approved by a government were brought to a halt following public protests. Posco and Vedanta in Odisha come to mind.
Denne historien er fra December 2016 -utgaven av Karnataka Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 2016 -utgaven av Karnataka Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Fish Vends - No Longer A Fishy Tale
New vends are redefining the way fish is sold in the fish loving city of Mangaluru. M Raghuram tell us more
Karnataka Gets Its First Chess Grand Master!
“It has taken me longer than I expected to secure the Grand Master rating mainly due to a lack of permanent sponsorship”, Karnataka’s first Chess Grand Master told R. Uday Kumar during a wide ranging chat in which he discussed his motivation, and displayed his determination to win more laurels for the state.
Travel. Be A Great Leader- Here's How!
Travel is delightful. It relaxes, enriches the eye and the soul, and generally reinvigorates. That is something we all know. But it also provides us with invaluable business leadership skills, says Deepshikha Dhankhar
Mahindra KUV100 NXT A New Ride For The Millennial
The facelifted Mahindra KUV100 has officially gone on sale in India. The refreshed model comes with about 40 new updates and features which is why the company has rechristened it ‘KUV100 NXT’. Karthick Annamalai examines the claim.
The Bald Truth of hair transplant clinics
They are everywhere, like hair on a full head of hair! In newspapers. On websites. In advertisements, on banners and hoardings. Or, right around the corner where you live. Hair transplantation clinics with before-andafter photographs are everywhere! They nail the lie that bald is beautiful! It’s the bald and balding that rush in to these clinics where angels fear to tread! But is it safe? Is your life at risk when you undergo this procedure? Raina Paul finds out.
My work is my business card, says Ramesh Aravind
The USP of Ramesh Aravind is his gregariousness, humility and humbleness. Affectionately called as a Kannada Kamal Hasan by his friends and well-wishers, Ramesh has reached the coveted mile stone of acting in a century of films in 25 years. The specialty of Ramesh Aravind is his immunity to any controversy or gossip in Sandalwood. He considers his journey that began 25 years ago as a beautiful and wonderful journey. He has played a variety of roles and taken up a variety of responsibilities in the film industry - acting, directing, script-writing and anchoring. He shares his sweet memories and the journey with Y Maheswara Reddy.
The Cauvery dilemma
Both north and south Karnataka are in a tizzy over water. North Karnataka over the utilisation of waters of the Mahadayi River (see article on Page 24) and South Karnataka over the utilization of the Cauvery River. This is probably the result of a skewed discourse which is framed by the limited terms of water availability. It’s an I win you lose kind of discourse - water allocated to one state is the loss of another, and the water that reaches the sea is a waste. Is there a way to deal with these disputes other than the legal? Prabhu Mallikarjunan traces the history and outcome of the dispute and puts forth the farmer’s perspective.
In contempt of the People's Court
Can the Government of the people, by the people and more importantly for the people, ignore the voice of the people in a democracy is the moot question this article throws up. Public consultation is important and there will always be dissenting voices. But when they are overwhelming, is the government justified in unilaterally overruling public sentiment?
Playing the Piano Is Like Breathing for Me: Rhys Concessao
Rhys Concessao is a musical prodigy. At the age of 12, he is already a performer on the world’s best stages, from the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City to the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and is the winner of multiple awards including the Most Distinguished Pianist Award and the Young Talent Encouragement award. He is also the Music Ambassador for the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, a very prestigious foundation in the musical world. Karnataka is proud of his achievements as his roots are in Mangaluru on the western coast of Karnataka. Here is Rhys answering a few questions for our readers about his musical journey put to him by Karnataka Today’s Allwyn Mascarenhas.
Robin Mathews : Samajwadi Party candidates will enter Karnataka Vidhana Soudha in 2018
The party of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the strong man of Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) made its debut in Karnataka bagging one seat in the Assembly elections held in 2013. Robin Mathews heads the party in Karnataka and is hopeful of strengthening its base in the run up to the state’s assembly elections in 2018. He spoke to Y Maheswara Reddy about the state of the party and his plans to the make it the party of the state!
