Latest news with #GBG)Act
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Karnataka High Court notice to State govt. on plea challenging constitutional validity of Greater Bengaluru Governance Act
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday ordered issue of notice to the State government and the State Election Commission (SEC) on a PIL petition questioning the constitutional validity of the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Act, 2024. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Joshi passed the order on the petition filed by well-known Kannada film director T.S. Nagabharana and three others. The petitioners have also sought a direction to the State Election Commission to hold elections to the existing Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Pailke (BBMP) while pointing out that the last election to the BBMP was held 10 years ago, in 2015, and both the government and the SEC have failed to hold timely elections to the BBMP as per the constitutional provisions despite expiry of term of the elected body about five years ago. Pointing out that Section 9 of the GBC Act provides for establishment of a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) consisting of Chief Minister as ex-officio chairperson, Minister in charge of Bengaluru development as vice-chairperson, Ministers representing greater Bengaluru area, Minister in charge of urban development and various officials as ex-officio members, the the petitioners have contended that the 'GBA is an unconstitutional body', which holds power to exercise control over city corporations to be created under the Act. As the GBG Act entrusts power with the GBA, which is an unconstitutional body, to control the city corporations consisting elected representatives, the Act is contrary to the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India, which provides power for local self-government, which is the basic purpose of the provisions contained in the 74th Amendment, the petitioners have claimed. The GBG Act gives powers for executing major infrastructure projects, collection and distribution of taxes, to make model bye-laws, to the GBA by taking away these powers from the corporations to be created under the Act, it has been pointed out in the petition.
Deccan Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
With GBA, Bengaluru in-charge minister to become ‘de facto' mayor
While these powers are not fundamentally different from those currently held by the Bengaluru development minister, the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Act, 2024, marks a shift from the long-standing tradition of having a single mayor for the city. It allows for the creation of multiple municipal corporations.
The Hindu
17-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Brand Bengaluru Committee to propose creating multiple municipal corporations under GBA
The Brand Bengaluru Committee, earlier known as the Bengaluru Restructuring Committee, is gearing up to present three detailed proposals to the State government regarding the creation of multiple municipal corporations under the newly formed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). This move follows the official notification of the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Act, 2024. The committee, chaired by B.S. Patil, held its first formal meeting on Saturday since the Act's notification and began working on restructuring plans. The State government has formally mandated the committee to submit its recommendations concerning the formation of corporations, boundary delimitation, and associated governance structures. The panel is expected to reconvene later this week to continue its deliberations and refine its proposals. The GBG Act was recently notified after receiving the assent of Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot. As per the notification, the GBA will govern a jurisdiction of 709 square kilometers, matching the existing juridiction of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). However, despite the formation of the GBA, the BBMP will continue to function under the BBMP Act, 2020, until the civic body is officially restructured into multiple smaller corporations. Sources familiar with the ongoing discussions revealed that the committee is considering three governance models: splitting the BBMP into three, four, or five corporations. These options are based on the current population distribution across the city. Although senior bureaucrats had previously prepared a draft for a three-corporation model, the presence of several inaccuracies prompted the State government to seek more accurate and detailed recommendations from the committee. The panel possesses a wealth of demographic and urban data accumulated over years of research on city governance. This data will form the basis for its proposals. Committee members emphasised that their work will be independent, guided solely by empirical evidence and urban planning principles, and free from political or bureaucratic influence. Additionally, the committee will factor in the city's inevitable growth and future expansion as a core part of its planning and recommendations.
New Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
GBA replaces BBMP from today, five corporations likely
BENGALURU: Ring out the old, ring in the new. The state government on Wednesday issued a notification paving way for the creation of Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), replacing the existing Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The GBA will come into effect from Thursday. Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Urban Development Department, Tushar Girinath said from Thursday, the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Act will come into effect. He stressed that till the reconstitution of various corporations under the GBA is completed, there will not be much change in the functioning of the corporation. 'In the next step, the areas that come under the GBA will be notified. Once that is done, these areas will be further divided as per section 5 of the GBG Act to form corporations. As per the procedure, it will also include issuing notification and calling objections,' said Girinath. To a question on the probable confusion for the city administration, the ACS said, 'Till the time everything is finalised, the existing position of BBMP will continue to function as it was,' he said. The top official also said that there is a provision under section 7 (5) and section 360 of the GBG Act that specifies about the transition. 'All the functions in BBMP will continue till the time of reconstitution of GBA into various City Corporations and GBA kicks in within 120 days from the date of issue of notification,' the ACS said. He added, 'From May 15, we have four months to reconstitute various corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority and till that period, BBMP will continue as per the old rules under the BBMP and KMC Act as long as they are not in contravention to the new Act.' Girinath added that once the exercise is complete, all other Acts like the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act will cease to exist. CM will be chairman of GBA, DCM vice-chairman As per the provisions of the new Act, CM will be the chairman of the GBA and Deputy CM and Bengaluru District In-charge Minister will be the vice-chairman. It is expected that three to five corporations will be formed under the GBA, and an administrator will be the head of all these corporations, individually headed by commissioners. Areas like Anekal, Sarjapura, Chandrapura, Hebbagodi, Kumbalagodu, Belathur, Madanayakanahalli and other outer areas which are under panchayat limits will also fall under GBA, said the sources.
India Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
How Bengaluru's civic management hit the change button
Eighteen years after it was created to cater to a burgeoning city, Bengaluru's municipal body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), will now make way for a new system of civic governance in India's tech capital. This transition phase formally commenced on April 24 when the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Act, 2024 was legislation, passed in March and receiving governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot's assent on April 23, aims to transform the system of governance in Bengaluru by splitting the BBMP into smaller municipal corporations, which would be part of a Greater Bengaluru Authority responsible for city GBG Act was brought in with the objective of decentralising the civic apparatus and to achieve greater coordination among several parastatal agencies that provide various civic amenities in the move had met with some criticism from Opposition parties and civic groups, which argue that it concentrates power with the state government and thereby undermines the 74th Constitutional Amendment's provisions for local self-government. Instead, they recommend strengthening the BBMP and devolving powers that will allow it to function more effectively. The notification of the GBG Act also means that civic polls in Bengaluru, which have been delayed for five years, will likely not happen anytime soon. The term of the BBMP's previous council lapsed in September 2020; the city has been governed by an administrator since then. Now, the civic restructuring means several milestones have to be crossed before elections can be GBG Act requires the government to define the territorial area of the new Greater Bengaluru Authority and constitute the body within 120 days of the Act coming into the BBMP's area of jurisdiction is spread over 786 sq km. The recommendation by a joint legislature committee, which had reviewed the GBG Bill and submitted a report in March, was to redraw this boundary by including peripheral panchayats that have witnessed unregulated urbanisation in recent years.'If you don't regulate it now, it would be a bigger problem. So, we have recommended to integrate all the peripheral panchayats, which are developed now, into the Greater Bengaluru area,' Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, who chaired the committee, had told INDIA TODAY in chief secretary Tushar Giri Nath, who took over as administrator of BBMP on April 30, said discussions are on about the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the options before the government. For him, the task at hand will be to oversee the transition along with M. Maheshwar Rao, who has simultaneously taken over as the BBMP's new chief the notification of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, the new municipal corporations replacing BBMP will need to be carved out. 'We can do it simultaneously with the Greater Bengaluru Authority or sequentially. Both options are available before the government,' said Giri GBG Act provides for up to seven corporations with a view for future requirements. For now, three or four corporations are seen as ideal. However, achieving a balance among the new corporations in terms of revenue generation, population density and employment opportunities is going to be the key has also been a key concern of citizens' groups opposed to splitting up the BBMP. They have cited the experience of Delhi which, in 2022, reverted to a single municipal body by merging three corporations formed a decade FY25, the BBMP collected Rs 4,930 crore in property tax, the highest in India for the second consecutive year. More than a quarter of this (Rs 1,309 crore) came from the eastern-most Mahadevapura zone, home to a tech corridor. Of the total eight BBMP zones, the east zone came next with property tax collection of Rs 834 crore, followed by south zone with 733.65 crore. The north-western zone of Dasarahalli had the lowest collection of Rs 153 the current fiscal, the BBMP has set an overall target of Rs 5,716 crore as property tax. Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the minister in charge of Bengaluru, has said he plans to convene an all-party meeting to seek suggestions on the way to India Today Magazine
