TNN | Jan 2, 2015, 05.29AM IST
BENGALURU: There has been much conjecture over the Congress government giving Aadhaar architect and technocrat Nandan Nilekani a role in rebuilding Bengaluru. It is now exploring options: whether to put him in charge of infrastructure or appoint him as a bridge between the government and investors.
After he lost the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from Bengaluru South, Nilekani has kept a low profile and also kept away from the Congress party, which he joined close to the polls.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah is said to have considered asking him to head a panel on improving Bengaluru's infrastructure. Nilekani, once part of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force during former CM SM Krishna's tenure, had helped give visibility to the city.
But assigning Nilekani a Bengaluru-related job faces legal hurdles and overlaps with another panel. The CM was advised against it as the Karnataka high court struck down the constitution of the Vision Group on Bengaluru headed by urban expert Ramesh Ramanathan. The Vision Group was constituted in March 2014, but the move was questioned on the grounds that when the Constitution mandates setting up a Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC), the government had formed an extra-constitutional authority.
Following the court order, the government recently created a 30-member BMPC body headed by the CM himself, which will plan, formulate and execute development of the city. Even if Siddaramaiah bypasses this body and creates another for Nilekani to head, it may overlap with another panel's functions constituted to decongest Bengaluru, which comprises ministers, officials and urban experts.
One of the ideas is to create an expert panel or task force on industrial development in the state, to woo industry and bridge the gap between industry and the government.
A decision would be taken shortly as the Modi government, which has recognized Aadhaar as a valid document for availing various subsidies, may grab him for a post in the renamed NITI (National Institute for Transforming India) Ayog (earlier called Planning Commission).