The Siddaramaiah government has decided to trifurcate the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) through an ordinance route.
On Thursday, Law and Parliament Minister T.B. Jayachandra called on Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan and submitted to him the Ordinance Bill, which required the Governor’s assent, for trifurcation of the BBMP. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on Mr. Vala on Wednesday.
Speaking to presspersons after meeting the Governor, Mr. Jayachandra said the Cabinet had decided to split the BBMP into three owing to its administrative inefficiency and failure to provide basic infrastructure on time. The BBMP’s financial position was in doldrums and bills worth over Rs. 6,000 crore were pending, he said.
The Governor has promised that he would take a decision on the ordinance bill as per the law, Mr. Jayachandra said. The Government has decided to promulgate ordinance and hold elections later for the three civic bodies against the existing one.
The Opposition parties – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD (S) – submitted petitions to the Governor opposing split of the BBMP into three.
If the governor promulgates the ordinance, the BBMP will cease to exist. The ordinance seeks to amend the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act to dissolve the BBMP. It proposes to empower the government to appoint an administrator and constitute three local bodies.
The BBMP was constituted in 2007 by amending the KMC Act.
