‘Bengaluru MLAs are trying to take control of civic functions’

Opposition to Karnataka government’s proposal to divest BBMP of health management

Former councillors and civic experts are up in arms over the Karnataka government’s proposal to divest the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) of health management, pointing out that it goes against the spirit of the 74th amendment of the Constitution. Questions have been raised about the timing of the decision. Former Opposition Leader M. Shivaraju accused the State government of reducing the powers of the local body. “With the pandemic in full force, health management should be decentralised. A step in this direction was taken with the constitution of Ward Decentralised Triage and Emergency Response (DETER) Committee for COVID-19 management. But the government’s latest proposal only shows that it wants to have complete control over everything,” he said. The government has mooted the idea of handing over health management to a parastatal, the Bengaluru Health Directorate, which will be constituted under the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The move comes close on the heels of another parastatal being constituted for solid waste management.