Reforms in civic governance is like a mirage for Bengaluru

B. S. Patil, Chairman of the reconstituted BBMP Restructuring Committee, albeit with a larger mandate, said they are working on a Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, updating it for today’s needs.

Karnataka government has set a two-month deadline for ward delimitation in Bengaluru (number of wards has already been reduced to 225 from the 243 fixed by the previous BJP government), and senior Ministers are mulling over holding civic polls in December this year. However, given the lack of clarity over restructuring the city’s governance structure, dividing the civic body into multiple corporations being one of several proposals, it is now feared that governance reforms may be pushed to the background, this time because of civic polls. 

It can be recalled that BBMP Restructuring Committee, now reconstituted, submitted its report in 2015, but its recommendations were not implemented as the court mandated immediate civic polls. In June this year, the Karnataka High Court had set a 12-week deadline for ward delimitation.

The term of the previous council ended in September 2020. A new council is yet to be elected.

The former BJP government brought in a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020, which the Congress has termed ‘a missed opportunity’, and reconstituted the committee to bring in governance reforms. 

B. S. Patil, Chairman of the reconstituted committee, albeit with a larger mandate, said they are working on the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, updating it for today’s needs.

“All our recommendations will help to come up with an updated Bill, which could be passed in both the Houses of the legislature to implement governance reforms. The government hasn’t asked us to submit the draft of the Bill yet,” he said.

The committee was assigned an office in Vikasa Soudha a few days ago, and will start functioning from next week, he said. “But we have been meeting regularly and working towards preparing our recommendations and the draft Bill,” Mr. Patil said.