Karnataka Government Set to Introduce Revised Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill

The Karnataka Congress government would present a revamped Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill to either enable or improve compliance, governance, and administrative efficiency of Bengaluru.

The Congress government in Karnataka is presenting the modified Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill in the coming budget session as the report submitted by a joint committee of the legislature. A panel comprising 13 members was set up in July 2024 and submitted its report to the Assembly speaker on Monday. The Bill will be tabled soon after the Governor’s address on March 3.

Rizwan Arshad chaired the panel that conducted hearings against the opposition BJP, which had entered the government when the original Bill was proposed.

This time, the revised version centers on the improvement of governance and compliance in urban management in Bengaluru, leading to much faster simplified administrative processes in future for a city, which is growing rapidly.

Arshad said that the new Bill shall empower the state government to take major decisions like splitting the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into smaller corporations. To start with, the BBMP could be divided into two or three bodies which could be subdivided further if needed. This division, he said, is important for effective governance and greater compliance to the increasing infrastructure needs of Bengaluru.

The Bill is piloted by Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar and marks the second attempt of the Congress government to bifurcate the BBMP after an earlier proposal in 2018 was scrapped in the face of resistance from the opposition.