BJP petitions Guv against Greater Bengaluru Bill, seeks fair intervention

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A delegation of BJP leaders on Wednesday met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and expressed concern regarding the "Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill", which proposes up to seven municipal corporations in the city. Terming the proposed legislation as "unconstitutional", they sought the Governor's intervention to protect the democratic structure of urban governance, preserve Bengaluru's cultural identity, and ensure efficient city administration.

The Bill passed by both Houses of the state legislature recently, proposes restructuring the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) by splitting it into a maximum of seven city corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area. It also provides for a constitution of a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) for coordination and supervision, and 30 months terms for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor. The GBA would be headed by the chief minister as the ex-officio chairperson, while the minister in charge of development of Bengaluru would be the ex-officio vice-chairperson.

With the passage of the bill in both Houses of the legislature, it will now come before the Governor for his assent, to become an Act. Stating that the proposed legislation has "unconstitutional and detrimental" implications, the BJP leaders led by Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka in the memorandum requested the Governor to conduct a constitutional review of the Greater Bengaluru Authority Bill and its compliance with the 74th Amendment of the Constitution. It also requested him to recommend amendments to ensure that elected representatives retain voting rights and that the governance model remains decentralised.

Further requesting the government to stop the creation of redundant corporations, which will burden taxpayers and hinder Bengaluru's growth, the BJP appealed to the Governor to ensure that governance reforms do not undermine Kannadiga identity, traditions, and linguistic representation, and also to prevent financial centralization under the Greater Bengaluru Authority.

"Your Excellency's intervention in this matter is crucial to protecting the democratic structure of urban governance, preserving Bengaluru's cultural identity, and ensuring efficient city administration," the memorandum said. Noting that this legislation seeks to create seven municipal corporations under a single body, the Greater Bengaluru Authority, fundamentally altering the governance structure, the BJP said the legislation is in violation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which is about devolving power to local bodies.