The Karnataka government has formed a committee of 20 legislators and councilmen from the BJP, Congress and JD(S) parties, to look into the proposal of restructuring Bengaluru’s civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Infamous for its inefficient management of civic infrastructure and other related issues, activists and the civil society in Bengaluru have time and again called for a complete overhaul of the civic body’s structure and management.
The committee includes BJP MLAs S Raghu, Ravi Subramanya, M Krishnappa, Satish Reddy, Aravind Limbavali, Uday B Garudachar, SR Vishwanath and Narasimha Nayak; Congress MLAs Ramalinga Reddy, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Krishna Byre Gowda; JD(S) MLAs R Manjunath and K Srinivasa Murthy; and MLCs M Narayanaswamy, K Govinda Raju, P R Ramesh, K A Thippeswamy, N Ravikumar, A Devegowda, and Tejasvini Gowda.
On Monday, CV Raman Nagar BJP MLA S Raghu was made in-charge of the panel of legislators and councilmen, who will, in the coming months, discuss various issues related to restructuring BBMP. Speaking to TNM, S Raghu said that one of the primary issues being discussed is the introduction of the Bengaluru Municipal Act, which will be solely to govern the city.
“So far, we have been following the Karnataka Municipal Act, 1976. Considering how our city has grown so fast, we feel the need for separate legislation to govern the city. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bill was tabled in the Assembly during the budget session (in early March) and it was decided that a committee be formed so that a report could be prepared,” said S Raghu.
The Bill proposes dividing the city into 15 zones, which will each be governed by an IAS officer. There will also be a chief commissioner, who will coordinate with the zonal commissioners and the state government. The bill also proposes to extend the term of office of the Mayor. Currently, the Bengaluru Mayor’s term is one year. The bill proposes to increase it to five years.
“We are considering several past reports, such as the BS Patil report and Kasturirangan report, regarding restructuring Bengaluru’s management. We are consulting with urban development experts, traffic police and mobility experts,” S Raghu added.
He further stated that if the city is divided into 15 smaller zones, it would become easier to create green spaces. “So far, we have enough space to create four more big parks like the Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park in Bengaluru. We need more green spaces, better road infrastructure and decentralised management,” he added.
The committee is mulling over the formation of “area sabhas”. These area sabhas will contain voters from different polling stations or booths. The area sabhas will have a say in the implementation of civic infrastructure projects. “Zonal committees will be formed and will be headed by the zonal commissioners. All zonal commissioners will be answerable to the chief commissioner, who will coordinate between the zonal commissioner and the mayor. The mayor will represent the municipal body and will be answerable to the state government,” S Raghu added.
He said that in the coming days, the committee of legislators and councilmen will hold public consultations, and also take expert opinion before submitting its report. “We want to submit the report before the next BBMP elections are held. This is very crucial to ensure that the city’s management is not compromised,” S Raghu added.