Greater Bengaluru Governance Act Delayed Due to Splitting of BBMP
With the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act set to come into force, municipal elections in the city, which last took place 10 years ago, are likely to be delayed further. Sources indicate that the polls are unlikely to be held before the end of this year or early 2026.
The Act proposes splitting the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into up to seven smaller corporations. According to sources, the Congress government in the state is inclined towards three corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area, with a deadline of 120 days or August this year to set the boundaries. From 25 wards in BBMP, the total number of wards may increase to as many as 300.
The control of the BBMP is highly coveted as it manages infrastructure and governance in the rapidly growing Bengaluru. The last municipal elections in the BBMP were held in August 2015, with the corporation’s term ending in September 2020. Since then, the BBMP has been headed by senior IAS officers appointed by the state government as administrators.
The Greater Bengaluru Area, restricted to the Bengaluru Urban district, will comprise the existing BBMP wards and developed and developing gram panchayats around it. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar is scheduled to hold preliminary discussions with representatives of all parties, experts, and stakeholders to chart out the areas’ boundaries.
Apart from the redrawing of boundaries, a delimitation exercise is required before municipal corporation elections can be held. The opposition by the BJP and JD(S) to the Act is expected to further delay the process. During the discussion in the Assembly on the legislation, the parties had said it would end up destroying the city. Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said splitting the BBMP into smaller corporations would create pockets of uneven growth.
Shivakumar, who piloted the Bill, said change is required because the government is not able to change the existing system in Bengaluru, with the city growing in a haphazard manner. He cited the surge in population of Bengaluru from 70 lakh to 1.4 crore in a little more than two decades.
The plan to restructure the BBMP was first floated in November 2014, during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s earlier term in the chair. A Bill was brought to split it but had to be shelved after the BJP protested. In 2018, another effort was made with a draft Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, but it went into cold storage after the Congress lost power.
Soon after the party won the Assembly elections and Siddaramaiah became the CM again, he set up a committee on the issue in June 2023. In June 2024, the panel submitted a draft of the Bill. It proposed the establishment of a Greater Bengaluru Authority for coordinating and supervising the development of the Greater Bengaluru Area and proposed up to seven city corporations for effective, participatory, and responsive governance.
Calling the Bill unscientific and expressing apprehension of uneven distribution, the BJP walked out in protest when it was passed.
Reference : https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/bengaluru-civic-corporation-split-10-year-polls-9972928/
