D K Shivakumar dusts off proposal to create five corporations under Bengaluru

On Tuesday, DKS met with a three-member committee led by former Chief Secretary B S Patil to gain insights into the arguments supporting the BBMP restructuring

The five-year-old proposal to create five municipal corporations under Bengaluru has received renewed attention as it has been discussed multiple times over the last two days.

Although no official statement has been issued regarding the restructuring of the BBMP into smaller entities, the state government is exploring various options, including revising ward delimitation, before conducting elections for the civic body.

On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar met with a three-member committee led by former Chief Secretary B S Patil to gain insights into the arguments supporting the BBMP restructuring.

The committee had initially submitted the proposal to create five corporations under Bengaluru in 2018, but it was put on hold due to opposition from the BJP.

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During separate meetings with Bengaluru lawmakers and Congress MLAs on Monday, Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, briefly discussed the idea of creating smaller corporations.

The Patil Committee has been pushing for smaller corporations, stating that the amalgamation of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike with seven cities municipal councils (CMC), one town municipal council (TMC) and 110 villages in 2007 did not yield positive results as the outlying areas of Bengaluru continue to suffer in terms of public infrastructure.

In place of BBMP, the committee has been suggesting a three-tier governance framework for Bengaluru: 400 wards, five municipal corporations (central, north, east, west and south) and a Greater Bengaluru Authority (covering the geographical area of Bengaluru Development Authority with additional powers).

“The five corporation model epitomises a Bengaluru aligned to its historical roots while reaching out to seek its tryst with the modern world,” the committee’s report submitted to the government in 2018 reads.

“One of the arguments against splitting BBMP in the public debate has been the fear of the loss of the Bengaluru brand. This implicitly assumes brand Bengaluru is dependent on BBMP remaining as a single unit forever. This is not the case. BBMP by no yardstick can be considered to be the signpost of brand Bengaluru.”

The recommendation to make it into multiple units is driven by a desire to make the city more manageable and livable. “London has 33 boroughs but its brand is one of the best in the world,” the report states.

Speaking to DH, Patil said the report was prepared after extensive research and takes into account the population growth over the next 25 years.

“Redrawing the BBMP with 243 wards will not do any good for the city. What Bengaluru needs is a structural change in the governance framework. Our report can be implemented in three to six months,” Patil said.