House panel recommends up to 250 wards for BBMP

The Joint Select Committee formed to scrutinise the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Bill has recommended increasing the number of municipal wards in the city to a maximum of 250.

A special report tabled by the committee, headed by BJP MLA S Raghu, in the Assembly on Tuesday recommended amending Section 7 (a) of Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act.

According to the existing section, a corporation shall consist of "elected councilors not being less than thirty and not more than two hundred..." The amendment will change the maximum limit from 200 to 250.

“The Committee will need time to submit its report on aspects mentioned in the BBMP Bill. Meanwhile, the term of the elected members of the BBMP has ended and elections are to be held. But, given the current circumstances, the increased population of the Bengaluru city and its geographic spread, the committee recommends the amendment,” the report stated.

Earlier, the committee discussed increasing the number of BBMP wards from the existing 198 to 225, and increasing municipal zones from eight to ten. The committee is likely to fix the tenure of the Mayor at 30 months.

The government’s intention of moving the BBMP Bill is seen as a ploy to delay BBMP elections. The term of BBMP corporators ended September 10 and elections are yet to be notified. The state government, meanwhile, has appointed senior IAS officer Gaurav Gupta as administrator for the civic body.