Government set to reintroduce Bill for splitting Palike in session

The State government is all set to pursue the controversial Karnataka Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2015, to pave way for restructuring of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, in the ongoing legislature session.

The Karnataka Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2015, was tabled in the last legislature session. The bill has provisions for creating two or more municipal bodies in place of the BBMP. While the bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly, it was referred to a select committee in the Legislative Council. The 13-member committee is headed by minister S R Patil. It has been given the task of studying the merits and demerits of the bill. The panel, constituted in April, was given three months to submit the report.

Now, according to sources in the government, it may reintroduce the bill in the Assembly when the session begins in Bengaluru from July 13. Due to its numerical strength, the bill would sail through the Assembly. However, the government is not sure what would be the fate of the bill in the Council where the Opposition members outnumber the ruling Congress.

If the Council does not give its nod for the bill even after a month, then it would be deemed to have got the consent or if the bill fails, it would come back to the Assembly where again it would have a smooth passage.

Later, it would be sent for the Governor’s assent. The government is in a hurry to complete this process so that it can again go before court seeking time for restructuring the Palike, the sources said. The sources said the ruling party, independent of the select committee report, may push through the bill which has already been laid in the Assembly and Council. In all probability, the bill would come up for reconsideration before July 17.

The ruling Congress has got a breather with the Supreme Court giving some more time to conduct the elections to Palike. But, it has already dropped sufficient hints that it would seek more time from court to conduct the elections.

Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Law Minister T B Jayachandra on Friday said that justice can done to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes if the BBMP wards were demarcated “scientifically” based on the 2011 census data. They held this opinion even after the Supreme Court directed the government not to alter the ward reservations.

On the other hand, the three-member B S Patil committee has also been entrusted with task of suggesting the ways and means to go about the restructure of the Palike. The panel has come out with an interim report, while the final report is scheduled to be submitted to the government before July 30.

The sources said the Patil committee made a Power Point presentation to the select committee and it is expected to make one more presentation.

Minister S R Patil on Saturday said, “The select committee was asked to submit the report within three months. Therefore, we have to submit report this month. The committee has held seven meetings so far. We will meet again soon to give a shape to the report to be submitted to the Chair. We are not thinking in terms of trifurcation but restructuring the Palike.” He added that the select committee has gathered information on the functioning of municipal bodies in mega cities and the report would be finalised in the next two meetings.

The sources said that in case the select committee fails to give the report within the stipulated three months, then it would be deemed to had been submitted.

Asked whether the government would go by the reports of the two committees and draft a new bill, Bengaluru Urban district in charge minister Ramalinga Reddy said that a bill was already before the Assembly and it was up to the government to accept or reject a report.

Do not violate SC orders: MP to Govt

Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrashekar has said that he will approach the Supreme Court if the State government makes any attempt to misuse the Supreme Court order, to avoid conducting elections to the BBMP, reports DHNS from Bengaluru. Chandrashekar, who is one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court on the issue, said the apex court has given eight weeks’ time to complete the poll process to conduct elections to the BBMP. Any attempt to play politics by taking up the process to re-structure the Bengaluru Municipal areas in order to avoid conducting of the BBMP polls will amount to contempt of court, he added.