Bengaluru: The long-awaited review of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024 (GBG Bill) is set to commence as UT Khader, the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, has formed a joint house committee to examine the proposed legislation. This bill aims to overhaul Bengaluru’s civic administration significantly. The 13-member committee, which includes representatives from the three major parties, was established on Saturday and has been given three months to offer recommendations and suggest changes to the bill.
The committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Tuesday to elect a chairman, with broad agreement among members favouring Rizwan Arshad, the Congress MLA from Shivajinagar, for the role, as per a TOI report. Arshad expressed confidence in meeting the deadline, stating, “We understand the significance of the proposed legislation as it entails game-changing aspects of the city’s administration. We are confident of finishing the task within the deadline.”
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, tabled the GBG Bill in the assembly last month during the monsoon session. Due to its complexity, MLAs had requested that the bill be reviewed by a joint house committee.
Controversial Proposals and Stakeholder Concerns
The GBG Bill proposes to divide the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into two to ten smaller corporations and integrate other city civic agencies like the BDA and BWSSB into a new Greater Bengaluru Authority. This restructuring has sparked concerns among key stakeholders, including the Brand Bengaluru Committee, which fears that the new bill undermines the role of the elected mayor-in-council.
The committee will seek input from stakeholders, including civil society, and conduct public hearings before finalising its report. The report is expected to be presented during the winter session of the legislature in Belagavi, scheduled for November-December. Khader expressed hope that the committee would adhere to the timeframe, allowing the bill to be passed in the winter session.
Concerns About Delays and BBMP Elections
There is apprehension that the three-month review period may delay the BBMP elections further. Even if the bill is passed in the winter session, subsequent procedures such as delimitation of wards and reservation would need to be completed before elections can be held. Abdul Wajid, a former Congress corporator, remarked, “The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill is welcome, but it should not come in the way of pending BBMP polls. It is better if the government enacts it after conducting elections to BBMP in its existing form.”
In a related development, former corporators and aspiring candidates are marking September 10 as a ‘Black Day’ to highlight the continued delay in BBMP elections. The last term of an elected BBMP council ended four years ago, and elections, initially due in September 2020, have been postponed multiple times. A petition seeking BBMP polls has been pending in the Supreme Court since 2022, with the Congress government’s decision to restructure the city’s administration further delaying the process.