Greater Bengaluru Authority area to span up to 1,000 sq. km as State govt. begins restructuring works
The State government is preparing to bring several peripheral villages under the newly proposed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), potentially expanding the civic area up to 1000 sq. km. This expansion would mark a major step in urban integration, significantly increasing the jurisdiction beyond the current 709 sq. km governed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
According to official sources, multiple meetings have taken place in recent days involving senior bureaucrats and members of Brand Bengaluru Committee to discuss the delineation of GBA's boundaries. These meetings were held days after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot gave his assent to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2024, the legislation aimed at restructuring metropolitan governance.
As part of the restructuring, the State government is also considering dividing the BBMP into between three and five municipal corporations, aiming to decentralise administration and improve delivery of civic services.
Talking to The Hindu, a source who attended a key planning meeting held on Monday revealed that the proposed GBA area would fall between the current limits of the BBMP and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which presently oversees planning across 1219 sq. km.
With Bengaluru experiencing rapid expansion driven by inward migration and large-scale investments, many outlying villages have effectively become part of the city's continuous urban sprawl. The government plans to bring at least 25 of these villages under GBA's administrative ambit to harness their revenue potential and provide them with better urban infrastructure.
Under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act 2024, the GBA will assume the role of the local planning authority for the designated area. While the BDA will continue to function, its role will shift to supporting planning assessments and providing expert inputs under the broader GBA framework. Final approval of all planning proposals will rest with the Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC)—the apex metropolitan planning body.
To accommodate GBA's expanded role, the BMPC's jurisdiction will also be broadened, covering a significantly larger area to be formally notified by the State government. This area will include the limits of the newly formed GBA and possibly more regions depending on future urban development needs.
The demarcation of boundaries for the GBA and the new corporations will take into account multiple factors such as population density, existing infrastructure, and revenue potential. A careful delimitation of wards is also being planned to ensure balanced resource distribution and to mitigate fiscal disparities between the proposed corporations.
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