BBMP no more? Govt to create smaller corporations in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Joint Scrutiny Committee of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, which was constituted to review the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024, held two public consultation meetings on Monday.

While the Bill, aimed at restructuring the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into multiple corporations, received mixed reactions, there was a strong opposition to sharing property tax of one municipal corporation with the other.

Explaining the provisions of the Bill, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath said it proposes an apex body called the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and up to 10 smaller corporations. "Each corporation will have a mayor, commissioner, standing committees, and ward committees,” he said.

The GBA will have three key responsibilities: co-ordination among different agencies such as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) and Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML); control over cadre and recruitment of staff across all corporations; and managing state and central grants for undertaking large projects that cut across corporation boundaries.

Girinath said the corporation will not get to use the entire sum of property tax collected in the particular corporation limits. He said Mahadevapura collects about Rs 1,400 crore, but other BBMP zones such as Bommanahalli and West cannot be run independently as the property tax revenue is low.

"The revenue of all corporations will go to the central pool. The state finance commission will come up with a formula to re-distribute the funds to the corporations,” he said.

"This is being done keeping in mind the failure of New Delhi, where only one corporation was rich, while the other two could not handle the administrative cost," he added.

Joint Scrutiny Committee chairman Rizwan Arshad said the state finance commission is an independent constitutional authority, which will function without political bias.

"We are not reducing the power of corporations. They will be as empowered as the municipal act. The Articles 243-X and 243-Y allows the government to collect in a central pool and re-distribute it. The provision was added after consulting legal experts and the law department,” he said.

Arshad said the report would be submitted to the Karnataka Legislature by February 21. “We hope to conduct the BBMP elections by August this year,” he said.

Earlier, Girinath said the government would issue a notification to extend the boundary of the BBMP to accommodate the villages and towns in the corporations. He said the decision on giving the planning powers, which currently rests with the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), to the GBA was yet to be finalised.

Citizens voice their concerns

Citizens shared concerns about some of the provisions of the Bill.

Ramesh, a resident of Doddanekundi, requested the authorities to first hold the BBMP elections so that the new council can discuss the provisions in detail before it is passed in the assembly.

Byrathi Arogyaswamy of KR Puram suspected that the Bill was aimed at delaying the BBMP polls. He also wondered what is the point of bringing the Greater Bengaluru Authority on the lines of the London authority when the authorities here do not have the honesty and intent to create better civic infrastructure.

Some also questioned the necessity of having the GBA when the Urban Development Department (UDD) is already acting as a coordinating agency.

Former councillor Srikanth Gowda said the Bill aims to reduce the powers of the corporator by reducing the ward boundaries and centralising fund distribution.