Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that three new corporations would be created for administrative purposes and that wards would be reassigned accordingly.
Published Apr 26, 2025 | 12:16 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 26, 2025 | 8:14 AM
Synopsis: The Karnataka government is planning at least three new administrative corporations in Bengaluru after Governor Thawarchand Gehlot granted assent to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, despite strong opposition. Activists intend to approach the Supreme Court, arguing that the bill undermines local self-governance guaranteed by the 74th Constitutional Amendment, even as uncertainty looms over the long-delayed BBMP elections.
The Karnataka government is moving to create three new administrative corporations in Bengaluru following Governor Thawarchand Gehlot’s assent to the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Bill 2024.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said he would convene an all-party meeting before beginning the law’s implementation.
The Legislative Assembly and the Council passed the Bill in March. Activists from the Bengaluru Town Hall Forum later submitted a memorandum to the Governor, raising concerns about the potential negative impact of the bill on the city.
Opposition MLAs and MLCs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] had also urged the Governor not to approve the legislation.
On 26 March, the Governor returned the bill to the government, requesting it address the concerns raised by citizens and provide further clarification.
The state government responded by filing clarifications, although the content of these clarifications was not made public.
“Governor giving assent to the bill is a positive development in the interest of the city. The city will have multiple corporations where it will be decentralised yet coordinated. If the administration is restructured then definitely it will be easy for Bengaluru to deal with infrastructure challenges. The city needs a robust restructuring for better administration,” Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad, who chaired the Joint Legislative Review Committee during the drafting of the bill, told South First.
“It has been notified by the Governor and within 120 days, the government needs to identify the Greater Bengaluru Area and notify the same. Post that we will form new corporations and the process will be followed as mentioned in the bill.”
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru’s governing body, currently has 225 wards. Under the new plan, these wards will be divided among newly created corporations.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that three new corporations would be created for administrative purposes and that wards would be reassigned accordingly.
“These wards will be assigned according to the population so that there is balance in the development and demography across different corporations,” he added.
A new coordinating agency, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), will also be established, headed by the mayors of the corporations.
Under the bill, the GBA will receive funding from the state and central governments, while the corporations will generate revenue from sources such as advertisement charges and property tax.
The ₹3,000 crore allocated to the BBMP this year in the state budget will now be redirected to the GBA for development work.
Although the BJP had earlier submitted a memorandum opposing the bill, it has largely remained publicly silent following the Governor’s assent.
However, BJP MLA CK Ramamurthy has called for the long-pending BBMP elections to be held before any reorganisation.
“Let them first conduct the municipal body elections. Then, they can go ahead with forming Greater Bengaluru Authority,” he said.
“The rules of Greater Bengaluru Authority are different from the rules notified in the BBMP 2020 Act. As per the new bill, for GBA, Chief Minister is the chairman and obviously Ministers and other MLAs will become members. Let them conduct elections to 225 wards and based on the direction of the Supreme Court, the government can take steps on forming corporations. Let us see what the Supreme Court will direct the government in this case.”
It has been more than five years since the BBMP last held council elections. In February, the BJP filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding immediate elections, alleging that the government had been deliberately delaying the process.
Ramalinga Reddy said elections could take place once the legal formalities were completed.
“Once the seat reservation process for gender and caste is completed then we can go for elections of municipal bodies. We have passed this bill for the better administration of the city and welfare of the people,” he added.
The Bengaluru Town Hall Forum has organised a series of protests across the city, raising objections to the GBG Bill.
Activists argue that the bill violates the 74th Constitutional Amendment by sidelining citizens’ voices and granting MLAs veto power over ward committee decisions. They have also warned that the new structure could worsen inequalities by leading to an uneven distribution of revenue across the city.
Kathyayini Chamraj, an activist closely associated with the Forum, criticised the bill’s outcome, describing it as a “Gaji Biji” – a mess.
She said she had raised concerns directly with Rizwan Arshad during a citizens’ meeting held at the time of the bill’s drafting.
“The Metropolitan Planning Committee itself was absent in this draft bill. He was shocked and promised us to include it in the bill. He had included it also but now in the gazetted version of GBG Bill, Metropolitan Planning Committee has disappeared again and given place for this Greater Bengaluru Authority,” she said.
“Unlike Metropolitan Planning Committee which is a constitutional body, Greater Bengaluru Authority is not even a statutory body or constitutional body. The government has given birth to it as per their thoughts.”
Kathyayini further argued that the bill undermines the 74th Amendment’s mandate for local self-governance.
“It mandates self-governing body in the city or gram panchayat. We need to have mayor and corporators to look after the affairs of the city like Bengaluru,” she said.
Activists have also not been able to access the clarification document filed by the government after the Governor initially returned the bill for review and said they will approach the Supreme Court on the matter.
“We are going to file a RTI to get this clarification copy,” Kathyayini said. “We will take the legal route also, approach the Supreme Court directly. They have killed the local self-government completely.”
She also alleged that BJP and JD(S) MLAs were in ‘cahoots’ with the Congress behind the scenes.
“I am saying this because the two parties together should have opposed it in the Legislative Council where they are majority in number. But they walked out allowing the bill to be passed. Currently, there are 33 Congress, 29 BJP and 7 JD(S) MLCs and 1 independent candidate,” she said.
Actor-activist Prakash Belavadi, another member of the Forum, criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for its stance.
“If they have little self-respect left and aim to come to power in Karnataka, they will remain consistent with their stand,” he said.
“They should promise right now that they will not implement it at least even when they come to power in the state. Our Forum will discuss and take a legal step to get the Supreme Court’s attention of implementing the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. We will also study what made former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to make 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. We will get a mandate from the Highest Court of Law that the city must have a self-governing body.”
Belavadi said that while the Governor’s assent to the bill had been anticipated, the Forum had succeeded in raising public awareness.
“Our Forum plans to get academicians and town planning experts, add data against the unscientific planning of tunnel roads and all sorts of projects. Any government that comes to power cannot stay away from it and they would definitely like to have a hold on the governance of the city. Ours is a long-term idea and all these plans will take time to be implemented,” he said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
