The BJP in Karnataka is vociferously protesting the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill (GBGB), 2024, which allows the state to divide the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into smaller corporations and aims to set up a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
However, the five BJP legislators who were part of a 13-member House review committee to deliberate on the Bill did not formally record a dissent note and, in fact, unanimously supported it.
“No dissent was recorded during the proceedings of the committee meetings. All stakeholders, including the BJP MLAs, unanimously agreed to the Bill with certain modifications with respect to the pooling of taxes, among other things,” Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad, who headed the Joint Legislative Review Committee, told The Indian Express.
“While the legislators who were part of the review panel supported the Bill without any dissent, the BJP, as a party, has taken a stand against it. This shows that legislators on the panel want the implementation of the Bill,” Arshad added.
The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024, which was passed in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on March 10 amid a walkout by BJP legislators, has been criticised for granting sweeping powers to the state government and for the centralisation of governance under the GBA.
Following the Bill’s introduction in the Legislative Assembly last year, several MLAs raised objections to it and requested that it be referred to a House committee, which was formally constituted on August 22, 2024.
Five BJP legislators and a JD (S) ally were part of the 13-member committee: Yeshwanthpur MLA S T Somashekar, Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar, Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath, C V Raman Nagar MLA S Raghu, and MLC H S Gopinath. G T Devegowda, the JD(S) MLA from Chamundeshwari in Mysuru, was also part of the committee.
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A BJP legislator who was part of the panel and did not wish to be named told The Indian Express, “Yes, we did not record any dissent, and it should have been done. We lacked clarity over the Bill, and we thought it would not get through the budget session. Hence, we did not record any dissent note.”
The report was unanimously approved by the committee on February 20 this year.
The BJP is now knocking on the doors of Governor Thawarchand Gehlot, seeking a constitutional review of the Bill. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka, has argued that the Bill could result in non-Kannadigas becoming mayors. He has also alleged that it undermines the principles of decentralisation enshrined in the 74th amendment of the Constitution.
Arshad denied the allegation. “The Bill upholds the decentralisation principles of the 74th constitutional amendment by establishing up to seven city corporations, empowering local governance structures. Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) will be constituted by the state government as mandated under the Constitution. This ensures that metropolitan planning aligns with constitutional provisions. The BMPC’s primary focus will be to prepare a comprehensive development plan for the entire Greater Bengaluru Area to maintain uniformity,” he told The Indian Express.
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Urban mobility expert Satya Arikutharam said it was “astonishing” that the BJP had failed to prevent the passage of the “deeply flawed” Bill. “This legislation has effectively sidelined both the Metropolitan Planning Committee and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority before they could even be professionally established,” Arikutharam said.
“Instead of strengthening participatory urban governance and integrated transport planning, the Bill introduces yet another bureaucratic layer in the form of the GBA, which will only add more red tape and administrative hurdles. Rather than improving governance, the GBA will centralise control, dilute local decision-making, and create additional barriers between citizens and effective urban management,” Arikutharam added.
Karnataka witnessed a similar situation in 2020 when the then-BJP government led by former chief minister B S Yediyurappa introduced the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Bill, 2020. The Bill proposed structural changes, including the creation of zonal committees to enhance decentralisation and public participation. It was similarly referred to a nine-member joint select committee in March 2020 that included Congress leaders. At the time, Congress legislators who were vocally critical of the Bill did not record any dissent note during the committee proceedings. The Bill was eventually passed, and the BBMP Act, 2020, came into effect on July 1, 2022.
What is the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill?
The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on July 23, 2024, and taken up for consideration on July 25, 2024.
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The Bill envisions creating no more than 10 corporations in Greater Bengaluru, replacing the BBMP, and setting up a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). Critics, including the Opposition BJP and citizen groups, argue that the GBA will control city-wide planning, major projects and economic development, reducing the autonomy of city corporations.
While the Bill allows the establishment of ward committees and city corporations to have independent budgets, the state government retains the power to appoint or remove commissioners in these corporations, making them dependent on state directors.
The GBA will include key office bearers, including the chairperson, the chief minister of Karnataka (ex-officio); a vice-chairperson, the minister in charge of Bengaluru Development (ex-officio); and a member secretary, the chief commissioner of GBA (ex-officio).
During the discussion in the Assembly, a majority of members, including leaders of the Opposition, raised objections to the Bill and requested that it be referred to a House committee. Following this, the committee was formally constituted on August 22, 2024.
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The committee conducted extensive discussions with officials from the departments of urban development, parliamentary affairs and legislation, and law. Additionally, MLAs, MLCs, and ministers representing Bengaluru were also invited to provide their opinions and suggestions. The committee also held sector-wise meetings to gather inputs from the public and various associations. The report was unanimously approved by the committee on February 20 this year.
The Karnataka government has justified the breaking of the BBMP into smaller corporations for better management of civic services. Currently, one mayor oversees Bengaluru, making decision-making slow and less representative, according to the government. The Congress administration believes that multiple city corporations would allow more localised leadership. The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill has also introduced heritage conservation regulations, categorising buildings into three grades with different levels of protection.