Bengaluru from BBMP to GBA

Bengaluru will see yet another transition from to day (Sep 2) with governance of the city passing over from the BBMP to a new civic body named Greater Bengaluru Authority.

The GBA Act 2024 that comes to force, will decentralise the administration by splitting the city into five independent corporations to administer Bengaluru Central, North, East, West and South. Though the areas under the new Authority have not yet been defined or demarcated, the city is likely to sprawl over a thousand square kilometre from the present 709 sq. km.

The 3-tier structure will have the GBA at the top, five municipal corporations in the middle and ward com mittees at the grassroots level at the bottom. The Government has already constituted the 75-member Authority with chief minister as the ex-officio chairman and deputy chief minister as the deputy chairman, besides inducting all the MLAs, MPs representing the city and heads of the parastatal bodies looking after the administration of the various civic amenities.

Once, elections are held for the municipal wards and mayors are elected, they too would be taken into the body. While it has taken around five years for the new body to be put in place, it is to be seen if GBA would bring in more efficiency and accountability in the administration.

Bengaluru now hosts nearly a quarter of the State’s population and yields almost 65 per cent of the state’s GDP. Soaring rents and paucity of housing for the under privileged remain the most pressing issues for an aver age citizen.

The authorities will be failing in their duty if the city merely turns into a new Eldorado for the real estate sharks ignoring the common man’s pursuit of a sweet home of his own. Piped water is a pipe dream as BWSSB water caters to only 42% of the city’s households.

Mobility remains the most distressing aspect of the city which has over 10 million motorised vehicles with road surface failing to keep pace. The challenges are awe some and the new body’s effectiveness will be on test.