Gaurav Gupta appointed BBMP administrator

Senior IAS officer Gaurav Gupta has been appointed the administrator of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike as the civic body’s term ended on Thursday.

Gupta, a 1990-batch IAS officer, will be the Palike administrator alongside his current role as principal secretary of the commerce and industries department.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who holds the Bengaluru city development portfolio, signed off on the file appointing Gupta as the BBMP administrator.

According to sources, Additional Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma was also in the reckoning for the post.

The appointment of an administrator is akin to the government superseding the civic body. Till a new council is elected, the administrator will be in charge of the civic body’s affairs and BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad will report to him.

While the State Election Commission has said that it is preparing to conduct elections to the BBMP, the ruling BJP government is said to be keen on enacting a separate law for Bengaluru before the polls.

The BBMP Bill, which is currently being scrutinised by a joint legislature committee, proposes to change the civic body’s administrative structure — a five-year term for the mayor, up to 15 municipal zones, formation of areas sabhas, and so on. The committee is expected to submit its report by December.

There are also plans to take up delimitation of the city’s municipal wards by increasing their number from 198 to 225, while increasing the number of zones from eight to 10.

The House panel is also considering various options for the mayor’s term — three mayors for a tenure of 20 months each or two mayors for a 30-month tenure.

The push to enact the bill is being seen as a ploy to delay the BBMP elections, but Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan denied this.

“The government has no role to play. The Election Commission is doing its job and all the government will do is provide the necessary infrastructure,” the deputy chief minister said.