CM Siddaramaiah chairs first Greater Bengaluru Authority meeting, directs focus on civic amenities
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah on Friday chaired the inaugural meeting of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), and directed the authorities to provide necessary basic facilities to the residents of the city, that include proper garbage disposal, reducing traffic congestion, and maintaining roads and sewage systems.
He has also instructed to take steps to keep the city clean, enhance its beauty, and increase the revenue of all five municipal corporations under the GBA.
The newly formed umbrella agency —the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA)—will act as a coordinator, while the city will be administered by five corporations.
The GBA, chaired by the chief minister, includes 75 members, including MLAs, MPs, and MLCs.
However, BJP members boycotted Friday's meeting, and accused the Congress government of "dividing" the city founded by Nada Prabhu Kempegowda, and violating the 74th Amendment of the Constitution, which empowers urban local bodies to legislate and execute laws on municipal matters.
They also cited procedural lapses, including delay in sending the meeting agenda, as reason for the boycott.
"All municipal commissioners should increase tax collection in their jurisdiction. Garbage disposal and cleanliness should be given priority. Footpaths should be made as wide as possible. Quality should not be compromised for any reason. If the authorities are involved with the contractors, quality work cannot be done," Siddaramaiah said at the meeting, according to his office statement.
He instructed officials to chalk out a plan to improve last mile connectivity on the metro line to ease traffic congestion, and directed the Transport Minister to review the deployment of small buses for this.
The CM said in the coming days, all the concerned departments, like Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM), Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), which are providing services to the citizens of Bengaluru, should work in coordination with GBA.
He asked authorities to identify locations for adequate administrative offices for the five municipal corporations and take steps for their construction.
"The respective corporations should take steps to ensure proper garbage disposal at their level," he added.
Clarifying that there is no political motive behind the formation of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, Siddramaiah said everyone should work in coordination in the coming days to achieve the goal of providing best civic facilities and good governance to the people.
The Chief Minister also noted that public representatives have the opportunity to voice their opinions freely at GBA meetings.
Taking on the BJP, he said, "But some public representatives hae missed this opportunity. Those who are against the development of Bengaluru and those who are against decentralization of power have boycotted this meeting."
Accusing the Congress government of "dividing" Bengaluru that was founded by Nada Prabhu Kempegowda, BJP leader R Ashoka told reporters that on returning to power, his party will reunite the city.
Seeking to know whether decentralization of power means dividing the city, he asked, "Will you (CM) divide the state too, for the sake of development... Delegation of power is important, do it, rather than dividing the city."
Noting that a notice has to be issued seven days in advance for the meeting, Ashoka said phone calls were made only yesterday, agenda was sent at 12 noon on Friday, and the meeting was held at 4 in the evening.
The 74th Amendment to the Constitution is like the "Bhagavad Gita" for local bodies, he said adding that for the five new corporations, the Mayors should hold supreme authority, but instead the powers here have been vested in the authority headed by CM.
Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar said the GBA has been given the responsibility of the city's planning authority and the power to issue Transferable Development Rights (TDR). "This power has been handed over to GBA from BDA."
Noting that the financial limit of the municipal committees' expenditure has been increased, Shivakumar said, "the expenditure limit of municipal commissioners has been increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore. Thus, Rs 15 crore will be given to the commissioners of the five corporations. The expenditure limit of the standing committee has been increased from Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore. Rs 25 crore will be given for the standing committee of the five municipalities.
The expenditure limit of the mayor has been increased from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore, and it will be Rs 50 crore for the five corporations, he said, "This is a historic decision."
Defending creation of five corporations, he said, "it has been done while ensuring that the 74th Amendment is not violated."
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Not UN’s role to regulate AI, says Guterres as world body plans annual global dialogue
United Nations (PTI): It is not the UN’s role to regulate AI, Secretary General Antonio Guterres has emphasised as he pointed to an annual global dialogue being planned at the international organisation on AI with participation from all countries, governments, private sector as well as civil society.
Guterres will soon be arriving in New Delhi to attend the India AI Impact Summit, the first-ever summit on Artificial Intelligence hosted in the Global South.
In an exclusive interview to PTI ahead of his visit to India for the Summit, Guterres outlined efforts by the international organisation aimed at global cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI), emphasising that these are “perfectly in line” with the strategy demonstrated by India in its leadership of the AI summit.
Guterres highlighted three key areas under the Global Digital Compact initiated at the UN to contribute towards the global AI architecture.
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The first is the creation of a new high-level Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence comprising 40 experts from around the world.
The UN General Assembly last week appointed the 40 members recommended by Guterres to the independent panel.
Head of the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) at IIT Madras Balaraman Ravindran is among the global group of 40 distinguished experts recommended by Guterres to serve on the panel for a three-year term from date of appointment.
Guterres said that through the panel, “We will have a totally independent and universal…scientific body (that will be) able to tell the world at each moment where are we in relation to AI? What are the advances that were made? What are the discoveries that were established? What are the risks of (various) mechanisms or instruments, and to do it in a totally independent way.”
He described this as a “fantastic source” of information for governments to take the right decisions in policies and measures in relation to AI and “for the people at large to know public opinions, in democratic countries like India that is very important.”
Guterres also pointed to an annual global dialogue being planned at the UN on AI with participation from all countries, governments, private sector as well as civil society.
Emphasising that it is not the UN’s role to regulate AI, Guterres said the global dialogue will be a “platform where everybody can come and everybody can discuss, and where we can learn with each other and eventually come to some possible consensus on the best way to maximise the opportunities of AI and minimise its risks.”
Lastly, he expressed hope that his proposal of a fund will be approved.
“There was an agreement in the General Assembly in order to support developing countries to build capacity to be able to benefit from AI. So these are three very important contributions of the UN and I believe that these contributions are perfectly in line with the strategy that India has demonstrated in the leadership in the preparation of the present Summit,” he said.
The UN chief has proposed a voluntary global fund of up to three billion dollars to support countries in the field of AI capacity building.
The Global Digital Compact, adopted at the 2024 Summit of the Future, had set out a shared vision for an open, safe and inclusive digital future.
Among its commitments was the creation of an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI to advance scientific understanding and ensure that international deliberations are informed by the best available evidence, the UN has said.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told reporters that Guterres is scheduled to participate in the Summit’s opening ceremony, a plenary with heads of state and government, as well as a session on the role of science in international AI governance.
The Secretary-General will have bilateral meetings with President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will also meet with other global and tech leaders attending the Summit, as well as members of the International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.
While in India, Guterres is also scheduled to take part in a roundtable organised by the UN to discuss renewable energy and energy transition.
"With India emerging as a global leader in renewable energy expansion, the discussion will bring together senior figures from industry, finance, policy and civil society to identify concrete steps to further accelerate renewable energy deployment, strengthen grids and storage, and mobilise investment at scale.
“This engagement is part of the Secretary-General’s continued efforts to advance a faster, fairer and more inclusive global energy transition, aligned with the Paris Agreement,” Dujarric said.
United Nations India said in a statement that over 30 events organised by the UN system are scheduled during the five-day summit, and will include sessions on AI for resilient agriculture, health systems innovation, ethical AI governance, women’s leadership in technology, digital capacity-building in the Global South and responsible business practices.
The statement by the UN in India said that discussions will focus on “how AI can accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals while safeguarding human rights and addressing emerging risks”.
At the Summit, Guterres will be joined by senior UN leaders, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk; Under-Secretary-General and UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction Kamal Kishore.
Also participating are Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva; Director-General of the International Labour Organisation Gilbert Houngbo and Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
