Increasing wards to cost Rs 97 crore on staff salary: BBMP estimates

The additional staffing cost associated with increasing the wards from 198 to 243 will be Rs 97 crore, the BBMP has estimated to the state government.

The civic body, which currently has around 7,400 employees on its payroll, plans to add an additional 2,800 people to manage new ward offices.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) currently spends close to Rs 800 crore annually on salary payments.

The state government funds approximately 50% of the BBMP’s administrative expenses, while the remaining portion is derived from the civic body’s sources of revenue, such as property taxes.

In a letter to Additional Chief Secretary and BBMP Administrator Rakesh Singh, the civic body’s administration department has sought approval to create an additional 2,800 posts.

This is expected to increase staffing costs and reduce expenditure on development works, following the delimitation of wards.

“There is an urgent need to increase the number of staff in the ward and sub-divisional levels in the interest of administration and public works,” the letter states.

In 2020-21, the BBMP had spent approximately Rs 732 crore on general administration, mainly salaries.

The annual expenditure rose to Rs 745 crore in the previous financial year, and is estimated to reach Rs 800 crore by the end of this year.

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There is a commonly held belief that the staff of the BBMP are unhelpful when it comes to addressing grievances or providing simple
explanations.

Complaints range from delays in addressing issues relating to property tax and khata transfer, to a lack of enthusiasm in repairing street lights and ensuring daily garbage collection.

V K Srivatsa, a resident of Hemmigepura, stated that BBMP employees often make citizens run around without genuinely attempting to resolve the issue.

“The BBMP website is of no help to anybody. Officers are not available during visiting hours.

“Some of them do not even come to the ward committee meetings,” Srivatsa said, adding that the civic staff is not worried about losing jobs based on performance like in the private sector.

The Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by former chief secretary T V Vijay Bhaskar, submitted a second report, which found a severe lack of personnel in the BBMP.

This lack of staff, according to the report, has had a significant effect on citizen services, the quality of infrastructure, and governance.

Additional amounts

Rs 800 crore

BBMP estimates to spend on administrative cost in 2022-23

Rs 97 crore

Additional expenditure on staffs with the increase in wards to 243

2,800

Additional staff proposed for the new 45 wards. Among these, 2,115 are cleanliness staff (pourakarmikas).