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New Indian Express

Activists criticise GBA, warn of BBMP power erosion

BENGALURU: Kathyayini Chamraj, Executive Trustee of CIVIC, criticised the successive governments for delaying the BBMP elections, alleging that the delay was intended to undermine the Palike administration. She claimed the garbage, engineers, and real estate mafia had ruined BBMP. He was addressing a panel discussion involving civic activists, organised to discuss the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and its impact on local governance in Bengaluru on Saturday. CIVIC also stated it would challenge the GBA in court. 'In the GBA, all para-statals come under its ambit. All schemes are prepared by the government. Where is the autonomy of the local body? What authority will the elected body have if everything is controlled by the GBA?' Chamraj questioned. She said that MLA Rizwan Arshad, who chaired the joint legislature panel that introduced the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, was misleading the public. Arshad had claimed that the 74th Constitutional Amendment does not provide for control over agencies like Bescom, but the GBA bill covers them all. 'Autonomy of the local body has been reduced to just fixing potholes. Earlier, there was a ward committee, but it also has now been reduced to an advisory body whose recommendations are ineffective,' she said. Retired bureaucrat T R Raghunandan, who delivered the keynote address, warned that frequent delimitation and the creation of new municipalities under the GBA would disrupt reservation rotations for Scheduled Castes, Tribes, OBCs, and women, favouring elite candidates. 'The government's aim is to prevent the rotation of reservations,' he said, adding that the government's actions violated the equity mandates of the 74th Constitutional Amendment. He also observed that frequent delimitation creates new electoral cycles, diluting the representation of marginalised sections. He said cities like Manila and Brussels have decentralised municipalities with clear roles, a model that Bengaluru should adopt.