Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda took an informal approach at a public consultation on the city’s solid waste management on Thursday, stepping down from the dais and sitting with citizens as discussions about the City of Bengaluru’s waste management challenges began to take off.
The consultation was organised by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) as part of the community and expert input on how to improve household solid waste management in Bengaluru. Residents and civic officials together attended this meeting discussing waste collection, segregation, processing and disposal.
The minister’s decision to move away from the stage and sit among the participants made for an interesting moment in the consultation. Rather than sitting at the dais, Byre Gowda joined citizens on the floor, so the conversation could take place more informally.
The consultation comes as GBA works on improving Bengaluru’s solid waste management system. Byre Gowda had announced in the first session that the government would seek input from activists and people working at the community and neighbourhood level in order to consult on the matter. The GBA aimed to enhance household waste management, enhance the operations, update the guidelines and improve awareness about responsible waste management.
The focus on citizen involvement comes at a time when Bengaluru’s waste management system continues to be of concern. Door-to-door collection, segregation, transportation, processing and disposal are all significant elements of the city’s efforts to improve sanitation.
Breaking the protocol, joining the people.
— Imran Khan (@KeypadGuerilla) September 24, 2026
Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda stepped off the dais and sat among citizens during a public consultation on the city’s solid waste management.#Bengaluru #Karnataka @krishnabgowda pic.twitter.com/DzFZwRD8RP
The consultation has also raised questions about who should be included in discussions about Bengaluru’s waste management. BBMP Pourakarmikara Sangha, a union that is affiliated with the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), had challenged the removal of sanitation workers from the consultation. Pourakarmikas who deal with the waste of the city directly should be included in discussions about improving the system, the organization said.
The association has raised several concerns regarding sanitation workers: staffing levels, protective equipment, health check-ups, working conditions and regularisation of contractual workers. It has also called on pourakarmikas and their unions to be involved in the decisions about solid waste management.
Such a consultation is part of a general plan by the GBA to address Bengaluru's civic infrastructure and service delivery. Byre Gowda has recently conducted inspections and review meetings on waste clearance and disposal among various parts of the city.
Earlier this month, the minister inspected waste management operations in Bengaluru North City Corporation limits and visited door-to-door collection, attended by sanitation workers, and the conditions of waste collection vehicles.
The government has also been running the ‘Freedom From Waste’ campaign to remove waste from public places and to look for garbage blackspots. During a recent review of the campaign, Byre Gowda asked officials about the disposal of waste after it was removed from public places and pointed out that cleared spaces should ultimately be reclaimed for public use.
The consultation comes at a crucial time for Bengaluru's civic administration as the GBA is moving towards a more coordinated approach to waste management in the new corporation structure.
The residents of such consultations can also raise concerns about garbage collection, segregation, disposal points and local sanitation services directly with officials. Citizens and community representatives can also offer feedback on problems at the neighbourhood level.
Byre Gowda’s decision to sit among citizens during the meeting is one of the most noticeable moments of the consultation, and it’s something that shows the centrality of citizen engagement. But the real challenge is to translate urban residents and civic stakeholders’ ideas into changes in the current waste management system in Bengaluru.
As the GBA continues the consulting process, input from residents, activists, sanitation workers and other stakeholders will be a part of discussions about the city’s future solid waste management plan.
