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Karnataka Assembly passes Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill – What is it? Explained in 5 points
The Karnataka Assembly passed the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, restructuring the BBMP into up to seven city corporations. Scroll to know more.
The Karnataka Assembly on Monday passed the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill. The Bill was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio.
Shivakumar said the goal was to decentralise power and administration. "We are not destroying Bengaluru as some of the opposition members have stated. Instead, we are strengthening it. We want to make Bengaluru strong," he said.
The deputy chief minister added that the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill has been brought to give Bengaluru a new direction.
The Bill also faced significant opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Karnataka Assembly.
What is Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill?
Here are five key points about the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill:
- Term for Mayor and Deputy Mayor: The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill provides for the constitution of Greater Bengaluru Authority for coordination and supervision and a 30-month term for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor.
- Establishment of the Greater Bengaluru Authority: The bill proposes the creation of a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) to coordinate and supervise the development of the Greater Bengaluru Area. This authority will serve as a planning body, ensuring effective governance by integrating various civic agencies and parastatals.
- Restructuring of BBMP: The bill aims to restructure the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into smaller, more manageable corporations. This could involve splitting BBMP into up to seven corporations, with the initial plan being to create three to four corporations for better administrative efficiency.
- Empowerment of Ward Committees: The bill seeks to empower ward committees, making them basic units of urban governance.
- Financial Autonomy and Sustainability: The new corporations will have autonomy in collecting property tax, which is a primary source of revenue for civic bodies. The government will ensure financial sustainability by covering any deficits in revenue-deficit corporations.
Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill: How did BJP react?
Disagreeing with DK Shivakumar's statement, the Leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka, said the Bill is an insult to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who wanted to strengthen local bodies.
R Ashoka alleged that the Congress is paving the way for other local bodies to raise a similar demand for dividing them into several divisions.
"Dividing Bengaluru will not help us," Ashoka said.
Participating in the discussion, Yelahanka BJP MLA SR Vishwanath said, "When the Chief Commissioner has been running the BBMP for the past many years without an elected body, why do you want to divide? If you still want decentralisation of BBMP’s administration then hold elections, get an elected body who will manage the city well."
He also said that if the government was keen on forming Greater Bengaluru, it should be done after the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies.
"We will support you in strengthening its administration but don’t divide Bengaluru," Vishwanath said.
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Business NewsPoliticsPolicyKarnataka Assembly passes Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill – What is it? Explained in 5 points
First Published:10 Mar 2025, 08:39 PM IST
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