Latest news with #RizwanArshad
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
For now, Greater Bengaluru unlikely to go beyond BBMP limits
BENGALURU : The govt is all set to put on hold the move to expand Bengaluru's civic area to 1,000-plus sqkm by including peripheral villages within the jurisdiction of the proposed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). Instead, it will retain the current extent of 709 sqkm. The state cabinet, which will meet Friday, is expected to discuss the matter with a decision on the date of implementation of Greater Bengaluru Governance Act-2024 , which was notified on April 24. Following the passing of the new legislation, delineation of GBA's boundaries had come up for discussion, with many villages on the outskirts of the city expressing interest in getting detached from gram panchayats and being included within the city civic body's jurisdiction. The BBMP Restructuring Committee, in its first interim report, had suggested the GBA area cover 1,307 sqkm (including BBMP and BDA areas). The committee led by MLA Rizwan Arshad, which submitted the latest report on restructuring Bengaluru city administration, spoke about creating new corporations to govern while not specifying the proposed extent of the city's civic area. Following this, several legislators in the city and Bengaluru Rural district submitted suggestions seeking the inclusion of some villages into Bengaluru. That had a ripple effect on the realty sector with land prices shooting up in villages on the city's periphery in anticipation of becoming an integral part of Bengaluru's civic administrative system. However, the proposed inclusion and expansion of GBA area will not happen immediately. A source said: "Initially, the existing BBMP limits will be considered as the jurisdiction of Greater Bengaluru. In future, decisions will be made regarding the inclusion of gram panchayats and towns on the city's outskirts." Although there were proposals to create three city corporations for more efficient governance, the final decision rests with the govt. The govt notified Greater Bengaluru Governance Act-2024 on April 24, which outlines a three-tier civic governance system consisting of Greater Bengaluru Authority, city corporations and ward committees. The Act allows for the formation of up to seven city corporations. In fact, the opposition BJP had criticised the govt's move to form Greater Bengaluru, calling it a strategy to centralise power and influence the upcoming civic body elections. For over four-and-a-half years, BBMP has been functioning without an elected body, and while the Congress govt promised that the city will be governed by an elected body once Greater Bengaluru comes into existence, the timeline for this remains unclear. On holding elections for newly formed Greater Bengaluru, the source said, "There are proposals to trifurcate BBMP limits into three civic corporations. Once formed, elections to the new local bodies are likely to happen by the year-end. Prior to deciding on the elections, there are many modalities that need to be completed which include jurisdiction of the wards, reservation and others." On other hand, BJP has already explored legal options to hold civic elections as per the BBMP Act by approaching the court and plans to challenge GBA's formation.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
For now, Greater Bengaluru unlikely to go beyond Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike limits
Bengaluru: The govt is all set to put on hold the move to expand Bengaluru's civic area to 1,000-plus sqkm by including peripheral villages within the jurisdiction of the proposed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). Instead, it will retain the current extent of 709 state cabinet, which will meet Friday, is expected to discuss the matter with a decision on the date of implementation of Greater Bengaluru Governance Act-2024 , which was notified on April 24. Following the passing of the new legislation, delineation of GBA's boundaries had come up for discussion, with many villages on the outskirts of the city expressing interest in getting detached from gram panchayats and being included within the city civic body's jurisdiction. The BBMP Restructuring Committee, in its first interim report, had suggested the GBA area cover 1,307 sqkm (including BBMP and BDA areas). Operation Sindoor Operation Sindoor: Several airports in India closed - check full list Did Pak shoot down Indian jets? What MEA said India foils Pakistan's attack on Jammu airport: What we know so far The committee led by MLA Rizwan Arshad, which submitted the latest report on restructuring Bengaluru city administration, spoke about creating new corporations to govern while not specifying the proposed extent of the city's civic this, several legislators in the city and Bengaluru Rural district submitted suggestions seeking the inclusion of some villages into Bengaluru. That had a ripple effect on the realty sector with land prices shooting up in villages on the city's periphery in anticipation of becoming an integral part of Bengaluru's civic administrative system. However, the proposed inclusion and expansion of GBA area will not happen immediately. A source said: "Initially, the existing BBMP limits will be considered as the jurisdiction of Greater Bengaluru. In future, decisions will be made regarding the inclusion of gram panchayats and towns on the city's outskirts." Although there were proposals to create three city corporations for more efficient governance, the final decision rests with the govt notified Greater Bengaluru Governance Act-2024 on April 24, which outlines a three-tier civic governance system consisting of Greater Bengaluru Authority, city corporations and ward committees. The Act allows for the formation of up to seven city fact, the opposition BJP had criticised the govt's move to form Greater Bengaluru, calling it a strategy to centralise power and influence the upcoming civic body elections. For over four-and-a-half years, BBMP has been functioning without an elected body, and while the Congress govt promised that the city will be governed by an elected body once Greater Bengaluru comes into existence, the timeline for this remains holding elections for newly formed Greater Bengaluru, the source said, "There are proposals to trifurcate BBMP limits into three civic corporations. Once formed, elections to the new local bodies are likely to happen by the year-end. Prior to deciding on the elections, there are many modalities that need to be completed which include jurisdiction of the wards, reservation and others." On other hand, BJP has already explored legal options to hold civic elections as per the BBMP Act by approaching the court and plans to challenge GBA's formation.
India Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
How Bengaluru's civic management hit the change button
Eighteen years after it was created to cater to a burgeoning city, Bengaluru's municipal body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), will now make way for a new system of civic governance in India's tech capital. This transition phase formally commenced on April 24 when the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Act, 2024 was legislation, passed in March and receiving governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot's assent on April 23, aims to transform the system of governance in Bengaluru by splitting the BBMP into smaller municipal corporations, which would be part of a Greater Bengaluru Authority responsible for city GBG Act was brought in with the objective of decentralising the civic apparatus and to achieve greater coordination among several parastatal agencies that provide various civic amenities in the move had met with some criticism from Opposition parties and civic groups, which argue that it concentrates power with the state government and thereby undermines the 74th Constitutional Amendment's provisions for local self-government. Instead, they recommend strengthening the BBMP and devolving powers that will allow it to function more effectively. The notification of the GBG Act also means that civic polls in Bengaluru, which have been delayed for five years, will likely not happen anytime soon. The term of the BBMP's previous council lapsed in September 2020; the city has been governed by an administrator since then. Now, the civic restructuring means several milestones have to be crossed before elections can be GBG Act requires the government to define the territorial area of the new Greater Bengaluru Authority and constitute the body within 120 days of the Act coming into the BBMP's area of jurisdiction is spread over 786 sq km. The recommendation by a joint legislature committee, which had reviewed the GBG Bill and submitted a report in March, was to redraw this boundary by including peripheral panchayats that have witnessed unregulated urbanisation in recent years.'If you don't regulate it now, it would be a bigger problem. So, we have recommended to integrate all the peripheral panchayats, which are developed now, into the Greater Bengaluru area,' Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, who chaired the committee, had told INDIA TODAY in chief secretary Tushar Giri Nath, who took over as administrator of BBMP on April 30, said discussions are on about the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the options before the government. For him, the task at hand will be to oversee the transition along with M. Maheshwar Rao, who has simultaneously taken over as the BBMP's new chief the notification of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, the new municipal corporations replacing BBMP will need to be carved out. 'We can do it simultaneously with the Greater Bengaluru Authority or sequentially. Both options are available before the government,' said Giri GBG Act provides for up to seven corporations with a view for future requirements. For now, three or four corporations are seen as ideal. However, achieving a balance among the new corporations in terms of revenue generation, population density and employment opportunities is going to be the key has also been a key concern of citizens' groups opposed to splitting up the BBMP. They have cited the experience of Delhi which, in 2022, reverted to a single municipal body by merging three corporations formed a decade FY25, the BBMP collected Rs 4,930 crore in property tax, the highest in India for the second consecutive year. More than a quarter of this (Rs 1,309 crore) came from the eastern-most Mahadevapura zone, home to a tech corridor. Of the total eight BBMP zones, the east zone came next with property tax collection of Rs 834 crore, followed by south zone with 733.65 crore. The north-western zone of Dasarahalli had the lowest collection of Rs 153 the current fiscal, the BBMP has set an overall target of Rs 5,716 crore as property tax. Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the minister in charge of Bengaluru, has said he plans to convene an all-party meeting to seek suggestions on the way to India Today Magazine
Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Bengaluru civic corporation set to be split, no early end to 10-year wait for polls
With the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act set to come into force, having received the Governor's assent last week, municipal elections in the city – last held 10 years ago – are set to be delayed further. Sources said that the polls are unlikely to be held before the end of this year or early 2026. The Act proposes the splitting of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into 'up to seven' smaller corporations. As per sources, the Congress government in the state is inclined towards three corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area, with the Act setting a deadline of 120 days – or August this year – to earmark the boundaries. From 25 in BBMP, the total number of wards may go up to as many as 300. The control of the BBMP is much coveted as it controls infrastructure and governance in the rapidly growing Bengaluru. It last saw elections in August 2015, with the corporation's term ending in September 2020. Since that time, the BBMP has been headed by senior IAS officers appointed by the state government as administrators. The Greater Bengaluru Area, restricted to Bengaluru Urban district, will comprise the existing BBMP wards, and developed and developing gram panchayats around it. Later this week, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar is scheduled to hold preliminary discussions with representatives of all parties, and experts and stakeholders, to chart out the area's boundaries. Apart from the redrawing of boundaries, a delimitation exercise is to be completed before the municipal corporation elections can be held as the last exercise, carried out in 2023 – after several hiccups – has been rendered invalid by the new Act. Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, who headed the Joint Legislative Committee that examined the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, told The Indian Express: 'When the corporation is itself being restructured, there will be fresh wards.' The opposition by the BJP and JD(S) to the Act is expected to further delay the process. During the discussion in the Assembly on the legislation, the parties had said it would end up 'destroying' the city. Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said splitting the BBMP into smaller corporations would create pockets of uneven growth. 'Areas such as Mahadevapura, K R Puram or Hebbal will generate more tax revenue compared to parts of old Bengaluru where IT companies are not present,' he said. Ashoka also said that pro-Kannada groups oppose the move as the influence of Kannada might weaken due to the legislation. Shivakumar, who piloted the Bill, said change is required because the government is 'not able to change the existing system' in Bengaluru, with the city growing in a haphazard manner. He cited the surge in population of Bengaluru from 70 lakh to 1.4 crore in a little more than two decades. The plan to restructure the BBMP was first floated in November 2014, during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah 's earlier term in the chair. A Bill was brought to split it but had to be shelved after the BJP protested. In 2018, another effort was made with a draft Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, but it went into cold storage after the Congress lost power. Soon after the party won the Assembly elections and Siddaramaiah became the CM again, he set up a committee on the issue in June 2023. In June 2024, the panel submitted a draft of the Bill. It proposed the establishment of a Greater Bengaluru Authority for coordinating and supervising the development of the Greater Bengaluru Area and proposed up to seven city corporations 'for effective, participatory and responsive governance'. Calling the Bill 'unscientific' and expressing apprehension of 'uneven distribution', the BJP walked out in protest when it was passed.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Assent granted, but when are BBMP elections?
Greater Bengaluru BBMP elections Greater Bengaluru Governance Act Timeline of BBMP restructuring Sept 22, 2014: Expert committee formed. June 12, 2023: Expert committee reconstituted for BBMP restructuring report. July 18, 2023: Committee restructured and renamed as the BBMP Reform Committee . July 8, 2024: BBMP Reform Committee submits draft of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill-2024 to the government. July 22, 2024: Cabinet approves three-tier governance structure. July 23, 2024: Bill tabled in the Legislative Assembly. July 25, 2024: Joint Select Committee formed to review the bill. Aug 22, 2024: Joint Select Committee led by MLA Rizwan Arshad constituted. Feb 21, 2025: Committee submits review report to the Speaker. March 5, 2025: Bill reintroduced in Assembly with recommendations. March 10, 2025: Bill passed in the Legislative Assembly. March 12, 2025: Bill approved by the Legislative Council with amendments. With Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot giving his assent to the creation of, the stage is set for restructuring the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The move will pave the way for forming new municipal corporations. However, experts caution that this transformation, delayed due to the absence of elected BBMP representatives for several years, could take several months, if not longer, to fully a recent affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the Karnataka government announced that municipal elections in Bengaluru would be conducted only after August 15, 2025. According to the affidavit filed by Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department, SR Umashankar, all related processes, including ward reservations, will be completed before then. The declaration was made during a hearing on a petition by Shivaraju regarding the long-pendingAlthough the Act permits up to nine new corporations, sources say the government is initially considering the creation of three to five. An expert committee will gather data from various departments on existing boundaries, finances, administrative structures, and resources. The committee's data collection and analysis may take at least three months, followed by an additional two months for report preparation, if said that new wards will be delineated based on the 2011 Census, using population data as a key criterion. Once wards are finalised, the reservation process will follow. A retired judge or senior bureaucrat is expected to lead the delimitation and reservation commission. Only after these steps will elections for the new corporations become the, 2024, the government will declare the formal extent of the Greater Bengaluru region, which will encompass parts of Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, and Ramanagara districts. Once notified, all existing urban and rural administrative bodies—BBMP, City Municipal Councils (CMCs), and Gram Panchayats—within this jurisdiction will be new governance model will consist of three tiers: the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), Municipal Corporations, and Wards. The GBA must be established within 120 days of the Act's enforcement, with provisions for up to seven Municipal Corporations, each having a maximum of 150 wards, all bearing the prefix 'Bengaluru'. The GBA will oversee the general service rules, recruitment, and appointments for Group 'A' and 'B' officers, while Municipal Corporation Commissioners will manage appointments for Group 'C' and 'D' staff, but cannot enforce disciplinary GBA will be chaired by the Chief Minister, with the Bengaluru Development Minister as Vice Chairperson. It will include ministers from Home, Urban Development, Transport, and Energy, along with MLAs from Greater Bengaluru, Mayors, Chief Commissioners, and heads of key civic agencies like BDA, BWSSB, BMTC, BMRCL, BESCOM, City Police, BMLTA, and Fire Services.
