Karnataka joint legislature panel recommends splitting of BBMP upto 7 corporations

Bengaluru, Mar 5 (PTI) The joint select committee of the Karnataka legislature, tasked with reviewing the 'Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024', has recommended restructuring the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) by splitting it into a maximum of seven city corporations, in the Greater Bengaluru Area.

It also provides for a constitution of a Greater Bengaluru Authority for coordination and supervision, and 30 months terms for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor.

The 13-member committee, headed by Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, tabled the report in the Assembly on Wednesday.

In July last year, the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill was referred to a joint select committee, which had recently submitted the report to Assembly Speaker U T Kharder.

According to the report, each city corporation should cover a population not less than 10 lakh, and the population density should be 5,000 inhabitants per square kilometre.

The revenue generated from the area for the local administration in the year of the last preceding census should not be less than Rs 300 crore per annum, it said, adding that each corporation should have 50 per cent employment in non-agricultural activities.

Tabling the report before the Legislative Assembly, Arshad said the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike was established in 2008, population of Bengaluru then was 70-75 lakh, while now in 2025 it has reached 1.50 crore, and there are about 1 crore vehicles in Bengaluru.

BBMP's area is about 786 sq km, for which the administration was run by one Mayor with a tenure of eleven months and a Commissioner, he said and added that BBMP is separate from parastatal agencies like -- Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM), Metro and others -- and they are all functioning without any coordination.

"There is centralisation of power in BBMP, there is no transparency, and there is corruption. There is a need for decentralisation of powers, if it doesn't happen it will lead to corruption and it won't be possible to provide good, transparent and effective administration. So, we have recommended restructuring of BBMP into various corporations. We have also made a recommendation regarding the tenure of the Mayor, for coordination at all levels between agencies," he added.

As per the report, each city corporation would have a Mayor, a Commissioner, a Joint Commissioner, standing committees, and ward committees.

Each city corporation in the Greater Bengaluru Area should be suitably named with a common prefix 'Bengaluru', like -- "Bengaluru South City Corporation", "Bengaluru East City Corporation" and so on.

The term of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor is proposed to be 30 months, and a no-confidence motion can be moved only after six months from the commencement of their term, the report further said, while the city corporations shall have a term of five years duration.

Noting that the Greater Bengaluru Area shall have civic authorities of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, the City Corporations and the Ward Committees, the report states that on the issuance of the final notification on this Act, the BBMP and such other local bodies notified shall cease to exist.

It has also recommended for the government to issue a notification for establishment of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) within 120 days after the commencement of this Act.

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. The ministers in the state representing the legislature constituencies in the Greater Bengaluru Area would be ex-officio members. The Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Area would be the secretary while mayors of the city corporations are members, the report said.

Commissioner of BDA, Chairman of BWSSB, MD of BMTC, MD of BMRCL, MD of Bescom, Deputy Commissioner of districts, the commissioner of police, Bengaluru, Superintendents of Police, CEO of Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority, the MD of Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited, the Chief Town Planner, the engineer-in-chief, the director of the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services would be members of the GBA.

The commissioners of the city corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area would be members of the GBA, while all MPs, and the MLAs and MLCs whose constituencies lie within the area, or who reside in the area of the GBA, would be members of the GBA.

The government of Karnataka would appoint officials not below the rank of the principal secretary as the chief commissioner of the GBA, for a period of three years, subject to the pleasure of the government.

As per the report, the chairperson of the GBA would convene meetings at least one meeting for every three months, and the authority would prepare the budget every year.

The committee held consultations with officers from various departments, legal experts, stakeholders and the public. About 19 official meetings were held and at the 20th official meeting the report was submitted to the Speaker, Arshad said. PTI KSU KH