The expansion of the city to nearly three times its size in 2007 was “wrong” and has aggravated most of the issues plaguing the city today, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his justification of the proposal to trifurcate the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Friday.
“Issues of underground drainage, commuter problems, storm-water drains, garbage have not been handled effectively after the expansion. The city has grown unplanned… an administrative division is needed,” he said during the inauguration of Reach 3B of Namma Metro. The Congress-led State government has come under criticism from the Opposition and citizens’ groups for its attempts to divide the civic body into three. The large corporation expanse has seen inadequate revenue collections, with the BBMP collecting just Rs. 1,800 crore as property tax, against the potential of Rs. 5,000 crore; while “inflated” budgets proposed expenditures that could not be met, said the Chief Minister.
“In hindsight, the original boundary laid down by Kempe Gowda seems to be the optimal for the city,” he said.
