By Aratrika Dey
On December 1, the BBMP published a public notification in the papers, promising to compensate citizens injured due to bad roads or footpaths with a payment of Rs 15,000. In case of death, the family of the victim will be paid Rs 3 lakhs by the BBMP, while minor injuries will merit Rs 5000. Barring the primary compensation amount, the authorities will support the victim with an additional payment of Rs 10,000 to cover medical expenses. A special officer will be appointed to verify the claims. Following the BBMP announcement prompted by a court ruling, Bengalureans have taken to Twitter to voice their opinions, and most were sceptical about the policy.
A bad decision
B’lore’s area-specific Twitter accounts uploaded the notification on their profiles and a plethora of comments followed from several users. User Souva Bhunia harshly criticized the BBMP by saying, “Crores paid in taxes to BBMP for non-existent roads and infra. Get hurt on-road and BBMP returns your money…”, in the guise of compensation. Others questioned the necessity of this move and the genuineness of the claim.
While a user has sarcastically commented on the spelling-error (‘develope’ instead of ‘develop’) in a quote accompanying the public announcement and compared it with the inefficiency of the authorities in getting the job done. Another applauds the Chief Justice of Karnataka to have directed the BBMP to take such an initiative.
Claim verification
The guidelines of the procedure have been issued by the civic body after receiving directions from the Karnataka High Court. The family of the victim or the person who suffered injuries is eligible to apply for the reimbursement claim within 30 days of the accident. The claim petition needs to be substantiated with sufficient proof, such as eye-witness accounts, documents (medical and otherwise), police FIRs or CCTV footage. This is a must for the civic agency to identify if the claims are genuine.
If the evidence turns out to be forged, or the documents lack enough materials, or the application is submitted after the prescribed deadline, the superior officer will reject the petition. The claims may also be rejected if the reported accident has occurred in an area that had displayed notices to warn the public about the presence of bad roads or footpaths.
A never-ending nightmare
A persisting dearth of safe commutable roads and walkable pavements has plagued the city for years. Bad infrastructure is one major reason for the number of deaths caused by road accidents in Bangalore. In 2019, Karnataka ranked fifth in the number of deaths by accidents in India. The BBMP apathy is legendary. Despite several complaints flagging the BBMP Commissioner on social media, and filing complaints on the BBMP ‘Sahaaya’ mobile app, the officials failed to meet the deadline (November 30) to fill the potholes in the city. This is not the first time, and it will definitely not be the last time.
The elephant in the room
There has been no mention of any specific fund being allotted to the BBMP with which the citizen’s dues will be paid. The citizens demand transparency. With the civic polls around the corner, one hopes that the residents vote for the right candidate rather than the party. Because, as one citizen put it: “In hindsight, all parties are the same. Only good candidates can make a positive difference.”
