JOIN USA team formed by the Congress is of the view that Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the City’s civic agency, may be trifurcated to better administer the ever-growing metropolis.
The committee comprises seven former mayors from the Congress. B L Shankar, the State general secretary of the party, is the co-ordinator of the committee.
The panel is in favour of trifurcating and not bifurcating the Palike for easier administration, according to State Congress president Parameshwara and Shankar.
Parameshwara said on Saturday: “In my view, the City can have three or four administrative units because it has grown haphazardly. We can’t manage with one mayor or one commissioner. A well-managed city like London has smaller boroughs. We need to look for such solutions. The committee is consulting people who have knowledge about this issue. A final report will be ready soon.”
The committee had three to four sittings, during which smaller divisions were favoured. “Many cities like Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai have smaller units of the civic body. We are going to study these models. In addition, some states have passed separate laws to facilitate splitting of civic agencies. We may also have to do the same. The government has constituted a committee headed by former chief secretary B S Patil to study the possibility of splitting the Palike. We will consult that committee too,” Shankar said.
When asked whether the process of splitting the Palike would lead to delay in holding elections to the civic body next year, Parameshwara replied in the negative, saying that the party was for holding elections on time.
Bengaluru city became Bruhat Bengaluru in January 2007. As many as 100 wards spread across seven city municipal councils, a town municipal council and 111 villages around the City were brought under the administration of BBMP.