The State government has issued a gazette notification on the delimitation of wards coming under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
While the number of wards will remain 198, some Assembly segments in the core city stand to lose some wards. The number of wards in a few segments in the outer zones has increased along the lines of the population growth.
This development has not gone down well with certain councillors. Former mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun, who represents Jayanagar ward coming under Chikpete constituency, pointed out that in the draft gazette notification, her ward does not exist. “Areas that used to come under my ward have been distributed to three neighbouring wards,” she said.
Opposition Leader Abdul Wajid claimed that the area of some wards in the core areas had been extended, including Manorayanapalya ward under Hebbal Assembly segment, which he represents.
Several councillors, who spoke to The Hindu on condition of anonymity, said that the delimitation exercise was faulty and claimed that the same would be challenged in the High Court. “This is just a tactic to delay elections to the urban local body,” one of the councillors alleged.
Sources in the BBMP said that the draft gazette notification was issued just days ahead of the hearing of the petition filed in the High Court about the delimitation exercise and announcement of ward reservations. The petition, filed by the State Election Commission, is likely to come up for hearing this week.
BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar had earlier clarified that the delimitation was done on the basis of the 2011 census. As per the 2011 census, the average population in the city was around 84.43 lakh, as opposed to 54.40 lakh during the 2001 census. “This population was divided by 198 and the average population per ward came up to 42,650 (plus or minus). The population growth in the outer areas has been exponential, compared to that in the core areas,” the source explained.
Filing objections
Citizens may submit their objections to the draft notification by March 17. After hearing and scrutiny of all objections, the government will issue a final gazette notification, following which the ward reservations will be announced.
Objections have to be submitted in writing along with supporting documents. The objections may be submitted to the office of the Deputy Commissioner (Urban), behind Kandaya Bhavan, K.G. Road, Bengaluru 560009.
