Bengaluru, which is touted as having one of the most active citizenry, has seen the High Court intervene in civic and environmental issues after residents approached the court. more-in This year has been a victorious one for citizens of Bengaluru, be it the disappearance of potholes that motorists had learnt to negotiate over the years or their right to look up at the skies without a giant hoarding marring their view. And they have ordinary citizens, apart from the judiciary, to thank for. Bengaluru, which is often touted as having one of the most active citizenry in the country, has seen the High Court of Karnataka intervene in matters of civic and environmental issues after residents approached the court via public interest litigations (PILs). Tired of enduring rocky commutes and new deadlines from the government to make Bengaluru pothole-free, Koramangala resident Vijayan Menon and three others filed a PIL petition in 2015 raising the issue of poor condition of roads in and around the city. In September, their efforts bore fruit. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike was forced to spring into action after the High Court pulled up officials and directed them to rid the city of potholes. This is not the first time that Mr. Menon, 62, has knocked on the doors of the court. He has – individually or as part of citizens’ groups – pitched in for formal representations regarding the Revised Master Plan 2015, Akrama Sakrama and illegal commercialisation, among others. “We went to court as a last resort in each of these cases. In the case of the Master Plan, for example, we were talking to the Urban Development Department. But they went ahead with the opposite of what was discussed. We had to go to court because that is the only way the administration is willing to listen,” said Mr. Menon, who says his activism started in Koramangala. Having spent 25 years in the corporate world, the IIT Madras alumnus has been in Bengaluru since 1980. Hoarding free The High Court also stepped in to give freedom to the city from another long-time menace — illegal hoardings, banners and flexes. In August, the court gave the BBMP four hours to remove illegal banners, buntings and flex boards across the city and directed the counsel for the civic body to submit a report when the Bench takes up hearing of a PIL petition related to this menace. The petitioner Mayige Gowda, 58, a resident of Mahalakshmi Layout, said he was troubled by the plastic menace in the city. “As a social worker, I wanted to do something about saving the environment from plastics. So I approached advocate G.R. Mohan, and he helped me ready a PIL last year,” he said, adding that he did not expect it to have such far-reaching consequences. “I decided to go to court because I did not have much expectation from any department,” he said. His advocate, Mr. Mohan, who practises in the High Court and Supreme Court, has been a petitioner and advocate in around 200 PIL cases. “During the earlier days too, there were PILs but relief was limited. At present, issues regarding public inconvenience have been taken very seriously, especially those that affect citizens at large,” he said. Protecting pets Earlier this year, pet owners were in for a rude shock as the BBMP announced that it would implement pet licensing rules, which, among other things, included putting a cap on the number of dogs apartment dwellers can own. With four dogs, one of them deaf and blind, 33-year-old school teacher Indira G. Krishna was stunned. “I was appalled when I heard about the norms. I live in an apartment in Sadanandanagar. The moment a notification like this comes in, people who are not typically fond of dogs start retaliating even though we are responsible citizens who adopt animals from the street, clean up after them, and so on. The thoughts that struck me were, what was the BBMP going to do with the dogs? Handling dogs with special needs and medicating them requires a lot of time and effort,” she said. She watched a movement build up against the rules, but nothing resulting out of it. “I approached the court out of helplessness. We come from one of the largest democracies in the world. If there is something that will protect a part of your family, you should do it,” she said. The High Court disposed of the PIL pleas that had questioned the BBMP rules, which included that of Ms. Krishna, after the State government told the court that it has issued a notification withdrawing with immediate effect the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (pet dog licensing) Bylaws, 2018, after the BBMP brought to the government’s notice the difficulties in implementing them. “The notification was so arbitrary that it would have eventually been withdrawn. But it happened because of PILs and because the whole city had come together for it. It feels nice to be a part of the solution,” said Ms. Krishna.

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