Intense lobbying by MLAs, financial constraints may force State to limit GBA to 709 sq. km
Intense lobbying by legislators and economic constraints may force the State government to limit the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) area to the jurisdiction of the currently functional Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The Urban Development Department (UDD) will notify the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act (GBGA) 2024 on Thursday with the area of the GBA fixed to 709 sq. km. The operational area of the current civic body is also the same. After the notification, the BBMP, operating under the BBMP Act 2021, will cease to exist and the new corporation on the same nomenclature will come into existence. The State will appoint an Administrator to oversee the splitting of the new cooperation likely into three or five corporations.
In March, when the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill was passed in both the houses and sent to the Governor, it was planned to extend the area of the GBA. The government envisioned to include at least 25 booming urban villages on the outskirts of Bengaluru. However, now the State has changed its stance.
A former councillor who is in the know about the transition told The Hindu that as soon as the State informed about expansion of the BBMP area, MLAs for Devanahalli, Nelamangala, Ramanagara, Mahadevapura, and other peripheral areas began lobbying to annex some of the areas into the GBA.
'This has put a lot of pressure on the Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar. Mr. Shivakumar thinks it would be hard to accommodate every demand of the MLAs and for now maintaining a similar BBMP would come to his rescue. It has also been informed to the MLAs that after some time the expansion would be carried out,' said the former councillor.
He further said: 'Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the other hand thinks expansion is financially not viable as the State is reeling under economic stress. In the near future, the CM may agree to the expansion.'
An expert who is also a stakeholder in the BBMP restructuring, confirming the same, said: 'The present restructuring will happen out of political compulsion and not out of rationale. But this is a temporary as expansion is bound to happen sometime later.'
Under the Act, the State has the option to split the BBMP up to seven corporations and this provides ample scope for the government to expand the area, the expert added.
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