243 wards likely in BBMP, govt notifies KMC amendments

The state government has notified the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Third Amendment) Act, 2020, which increases the number of BBMP wards from the current 198 to a minimum of 225 and a maximum of 250.

Besides limiting the number of wards, the amendments also restrict the delimitation of wards to the jurisdiction of the respective legislative assembly segment.

The notification introduced two amendments to the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976.

The amendment to section 7(1)(a) states that the BBMP “shall consist of such number of councillors not less than two hundred and twenty-five but not more than two hundred and fifty councillors...”

The second amendment specifies guidelines for the delimitation commission on how the wards will be divided. Amendments to section 21 state that the BBMP can divide the city into wards “in such (a) manner that area of wards, as far as possible, shall be within the jurisdiction of an assembly constituency of the state legislature and no ward shall be divided between assembly constituencies...”

The amendments were brought in on the basis of the recommendations of a Joint Select Committee of the state legislature, headed by BJP MLA S Raghu. The committee was formed during the budget session in March and has not yet submitted its final report to the government. In its interim report tabled in the Legislative Assembly during the session that concluded in September, the committee had recommended limiting the number of wards to under 250.

The committee is also reviewing a comprehensive law for Bengaluru that promises a five-year term for the mayor, area sabhas, etc among other reforms.

Raghu had recently said that the government was considering adding wards in the peripheral areas of Bengaluru. No new villages will be included to the BBMP, and the government will delimit the existing 198 wards. At present, there is a proposal to add 45 wards to the BBMP: 15 in Bengaluru central and 30 elsewhere, Raghu had said. In all, the BBMP is likely to have 243 wards.

The term of BBMP corporators ended on September 10 but the government delayed elections to the civic body citing the delimitation of wards. Elections will be held after the delimitation and once the reservation is announced for all the wards.