The Karnataka government has set a two-month deadline for ward delimitation in Bengaluru (number of wards has already been reduced to 225 from the 243 fixed by the previous BJP government), and at a recent meeting of city ministers, it was decided to prepare for civic polls by December this year, as it was felt the courts won’t allow for any further delay.
However, this may only mean the city may yet again miss its date with governance reforms, including dividing the civic body into multiple corporations among other proposals, pushing them back by at least another five years.
This has created a sense of deja vu. It can be recalled that the BBMP Restructuring Committee, now reconstituted, submitted its report in 2015, but its recommendations were not implemented, as the court mandated immediate civic polls. In June 2023, the Karnataka High Court had set a 12-week deadline for ward delimitation.
The term of the previous council ended in September 2020. A new council is yet to be elected.
Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill
The former BJP government brought in a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020, which the Congress has termed “a missed opportunity”, and reconstituted the committee to bring in governance reforms.
B. S. Patil, Chairman of the reconstituted committee, albeit with a larger mandate, said they are working on a Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, which will be in keeping with today’s needs. “All our recommendations will help to come up with an updated Bill, which could be passed in both the Houses of the legislature to implement governance reforms,” he said.
However, at a recent meeting of city Congress MLAs and ministers, it was decided to delink enacting the new law and civic polls, a departure from earlier attempts to hold polls only after enacting a new law, which will create multiple corporations and a Greater Bengaluru Authority for pan-city governance.
A senior Minister said, “A new law to overhaul the governance of the city is the need of the hour. In 2015 too, the courts did not allow us to bring in these reforms as they mandated immediate elections. Now too, it is felt that it is highly unlikely that the courts will give us time to enact a new law. So, we recently decided to delink the two processes. We have now decided to hold elections by December, and enact a law later.”
This will only mean that the new law will be applicable only when the next council will be elected, five years later.
“The new law will change the entire governance structure of Bengaluru, with a multiple-corporation structure. The council elected under BBMP Act, 2020 cannot transition to the new set-up midway. This essentially means that the city will lose another five years,” the Minister said. “Losing a decade in fixing the governance of a burgeoning city like Bengaluru, which has become ungovernable in its present state, is too costly,” he said.
“Given that the next council will be elected during the next Assembly, if another party — that is opposed to the multiple-corporation solution — is elected to power, they may repeal the law we bring in. This will perpetuate the ineffective status quo,” the Minister said.
Challenge to delimitation of wards to provide more time to work on governance reforms?
Sources in the ruling party say that now, hopes have been pinned on challenges to the draft of delimited wards to provide some more time to implement governance reforms.
A former BJP councillor said, “Congress government has reduced the number of wards from 243 to 225, essentially a move to reduce the number of wards in outer zones where the BJP is strong. This will create large wards with high populations in the outer zones. This will definitely be challenged.”
It can be recalled that challenges to the earlier draft of delimitation of wards came from the Congress and then the ruling BJP, delaying civic polls by several months.
