Senior IAS officer Gaurav Gupta took charge as administrator of he Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Friday morning. His appointment was necessitated with the term of the BBMP council coming to an end on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after assuming charge, Mr. Gupta said he would consult Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad, senior officials and former councillors. “The councillors were elected by the people. They know the issues and their opinions matter,” he said.
With regard to handling COVID-19, Mr. Gupta said the civic body has already taken up several initiatives to bring down the number of cases. “We will discuss with the government about increasing testing in the city,” he said.
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Heavy rains have been lashing the city and several low lying areas have been inundated. “The civic body draws up monsoon preparedness plan each year. We will review the situation and take necessary steps,” he added.
About the implementation of the budget, Mr. Gupta said he would meet with senior BBMP officials to discuss the budget. “We will ensure that the budget is implemented realistically,” he said.
Though the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, mandates conduct of elections before the expiry of the five year term of the council, the elections have not yet been announced. The State government just completed the delimitation exercise and the voters’ list will be revised based on delimitation by November 30.
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Meanwhile, the State government has constituted a select committee to finalise the BBMP Bill, 2020. The Bill will be placed before the next Assembly session, said BJP MLA S. Raghu, who heads the committee.