A separate law to govern Bengaluru, bringing together all civic utilities for effective management after the city is reorganised into five corporations, has been proposed by the three-member Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Restructuring Committee, which presented its recommendations on Thursday.
The special Act will replace the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, which currently governs 10 corporations, including BBMP.
The committee has also recommended a separate town and country planning Act for the city. “The current Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act cannot be uniformly implemented across the State as urban features differ. Bengaluru is a special case,” a source reasoned.
The committee, which is expected to submit its report in the first week of July, has recommended a three-tier structure with strengthening of the ward, decentralisation and devolution through Ward Committees. The second tier is the five corporations, while the third tier will be the Greater Bengaluru Authority with the responsibility of planning for the city.
It has recommended formation of 400 wards, an increase from the current 198 wards, each with an average population of 25,000. “While a five-year term for the mayors of each corporation has been recommended, the government can decide later whether to have a mayor-in-council or a directly elected mayor,” sources added.
The proposed five corporations will be based on geography, population and finances among other things. Four corporations will get one tower each built by city founder Kempe Gowda, while the fifth will be at Yelahanka where Kempe Gowda hailed from.
In the two-hour long meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, a host of ministers and city MLAs, committee chairman B.S. Patil also recommended appointment of an ombudsman, setting up of a Finance Commission, a Municipalisation Committee to integrate developing areas under Bangalore Development Authority into the city in a scientific manner, and a spatial repository with up-to-date GIS maps and other structures.
