Karnataka Guv returns Greater B'luru Bill, seeks clarifications

Bengaluru: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on Wednesday said that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has returned the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill to the government seeking clarifications after it was passed by both houses of the state legislature.

The Bill, passed despite opposition from the BJP, proposes restructuring the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) by dividing it into a maximum of seven city corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area. It also suggests the formation of a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) to oversee coordination and supervision, with a 30-month term both for the mayor and deputy mayor. 

According to the Bill, the GBA would be headed by the chief minister as the ex-officio chairperson, while the minister in charge of development of Bengaluru would be the ex-officio vice-chairperson. 

Patil noted that this is the seventh Bill since July 2024 that the Governor has sent back to the government seeking some clarifications. “We will resend it to the Governor with the clarifications for approval,” he told reporters.

Citing representations from civic groups and Opposition BJP, the Governor returned the Bill with a direction to resubmit it along with suitable clarifications. 

The Governor has advised the state government to address the issues raised by citizen groups and the Opposition since it involves legal as well as public interest issues. 

Underlining that since the Bill proposes to divide BBMP into seven separate municipal corporations modelled after Delhi Metropolitan City, Gehlot stated that this experiment has failed in Delhi and a similar situation is likely arise here too. “Therefore, it is advised to take this also into consideration,” the Governor said in his note to the government. 

With the GBA Bill proposing to form a Greater Bengaluru Governance Authority to supervise and oversee the proposed seven municipal corporations, the Governor noted that this may lead to interference of the powers of elected local bodies enshrined in the 74th Amendment to the Constitution. “Therefore, this needs to be re-looked into,” he said.  

Patil added that 20 Bills were sent to the Governor, who has returned seven,  including the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill which aims to utilise funds earned by rich temples, Mysuru Development Authority Bill and Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University Bill which aims to replace replacing the Governor as chancellor of the university. 

Patil also said that since August 2023, a total of 119 Bills were passed in both houses so far, and out of these, 83 have been notified as laws. 

On the possible prospect of another round of confrontation with Raj Bahvan, Patil said the state government is in process of sending him the clarifications. 

“We will wait for one more opportunity. Then we will have to discuss it in the Cabinet. There are opportunities available in the Constitution to find solutions for such dilemmas. Article 200 gives clear directions to both Raj Bhavan and the state government in this regard,” he said in response to a question.