A survey conducted by Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) has shown that 57% of the participants were dissatisfied with Bengaluru city's overall governance. The Bengaluru Citizen Perception Survey 2022 which was released on September 21, was conducted across all the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and drew 8,405 responses. Some of the major issues the city is dealing with, include a sharp increase in the frequency of waterlogging over the past few years, poor road quality, hours-long traffic jams caused by inadequate transportation infrastructure, poor waste management, and a lack of adequate lighting and safety on the streets. It has only been weeks since both public and private property suffered major damages caused by the excessive rains that resulted in waterlogging in many areas, breach of lakes along with blockage and encroachment of storm water drains.
The Bengaluru Citizen Perception Survey 2022 was carried out based on 23 questions, broken down into three sections: BBMP elections, satisfaction level of governance and civic amenities, and citizen awareness and participation (BBMP ward-related). According to the second component of the survey, 57% of residents in Bengaluru were dissatisfied with the city's overall governance and civic amenities. Only 14% of people said they were satisfied.
Pothole-filled roads, access to clean drinking water, the removal of trash and waste, sewage management, and public washrooms were listed as the residents' top issues. Locals were disproportionately more satisfied with lake development and revitalisation than with commute possibilities. According to B.PAC, this may be due to the locals' active participation in the same.
In terms of civic amenities and service delivery, Mahadevapura zone received the most negative responses from respondents among the zones. Comparatively, the majority of respondents in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone stated they were satisfied.
Overall, only 34% of the respondents across the city were satisfied with the mobility conditions in their ward, 39% of the respondents of Mahadevapura zone were dissatisfied with the mobility conditions in their respective wards, whereas 60% of the respondents from Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone were satisfied. Eight out of ten wards in Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone had more than 50% of the respondents saying they were most satisfied with mobility conditions in their ward. Nine out of 17 wards in Mahadevapura zone had more than 50% respondents saying they were most dissatisfied with the mobility condition of their ward. On issues of garbage removal and waste management, 31% of the respondents were dissatisfied with the work done by BBMP in their ward. Rajarajeshwari Nagar saw the most content residents with 57% being satisfied, while Yelahanka zone received the most negative responses with 45% being dissatisfied.
While 88% of the respondent residents had cast their votes in the last BBMP elections, 93% stated they planned to vote in the next BBMP elections. The study was carried out between February and June of this year. Speaking at a press conference, managing trustee and CEO of B.PAC, Revathy Ashok, said, “This survey is an honest effort to gather the opinions and perspectives of Bengalureans, be it hits, misses and gaps of the last 5 years of BBMP council. We intend to convey these insights to the government/powers-to-be, so that they can take the necessary actions and meet the expectations of the Bengalureans.”