Greater Bengaluru Authority formed, Shivakumar calls it ‘historic’

Bengaluru, Sep 2 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday announced the creation of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and five municipal corporations bearing the city’s name, calling it a “historic decision” to decentralise governance and speed up development.

“Today is a special day when the GBA’s five corporations with the name Bengaluru have come into being,” Shivakumar told reporters here.

The new corporations are Bengaluru Central, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru South, Bengaluru East, and Bengaluru West. “We have not named any of them after individuals,” he clarified.

Shivakumar said commissioners for each corporation will take charge immediately and begin collecting revenue directly.

The government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the final notification on the reorganisation of wards will be issued by November 1, 2025, with a court hearing fixed for November 3. Ward reservation will be completed by November 30, after which the State Election Commission will announce poll dates, he said.

The GBA will be chaired by the chief minister, with the Bengaluru district in-charge minister serving as vice-chairperson.

Each corporation will have IAS officers serving as commissioner and additional commissioner, a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer as joint commissioner, and a chief engineer.

Structural changes include an increase in divisions from 27 to 50, subdivisions from 75 to 150, and a ceiling of 150 wards per corporation. Assuming 100 seats per corporation, the reorganisation will create 500 new elected representatives, half of them women, Shivakumar said.

“All taxes will go directly to the concerned corporations so that no one can question it,” he said, adding that the GBA will handle major projects while ensuring local bodies are consulted.

Corporation buildings will carry a new logo, land will be identified for new offices, mayors will serve a tenure of two years and six months, and GBA meetings will be held once every three months, he added.

Recalling the history of the proposal, Shivakumar said nine reports were submitted between 2014 and 2019. In 2015, a decision was taken to create three corporations, but the plan was withdrawn in 2019 after it failed to get the Governor’s approval.

“Today, in 2025, the GBA has finally come into being,” he said. PTI GMS GMS SSK