Another petition in Karnataka HC challenges legality of Greater Bengaluru Governance Act
A bench consisting of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Joshi issued a notice for the state to respond to the petition, which prays for several provisions of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act to be declared ultra vires to the 74th amendment of the Constitution. The 74th amendment primarily deals with the powers and finances of municipal bodies.
In the interim, the petition also calls for the operation of the legislation to be stayed and for the BBMP elections to be held within three months.
The petitioners argued that this was an attempt by the state to take over local bodies despite the absence of elections.
The Citizens Action Forum has also moved the high court in the matter, arguing that sections of the Act encourage the centralisation of powers in the hands of the State Government at the expense of local self-governance 'in the garb of the Greater Bengaluru Authority and Assembly Constituency-level Consultative and Coordination Committee'.
Among many other issues, the Citizens Action Forum's petition raises the concern of elected members becoming a minority.
'The only members elected at the municipal level would be the Mayors of the City Corporations who would in any case not be more than 7 in number. The elected members of the municipal government who form a part of the GBA would therefore be a numerical minority….. It is also pertinent to note that even the members of State Government and non-elected parastatal heads and bureaucrats have been given voting rights in the GBA. Therefore, the elected municipal leaders would form a minority proportion in votes held by the GBA,' the petition reads.
Each of the five new corporations will have Assembly constituencies and wards within them, as per a draft notification.
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