Bengaluru, Aug 19 (IANS) The Greater Bengaluru Governance (Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed in the Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar presented the Bill in the House. After discussions with opposition leaders and legislators, it was approved.
The bill intends to divide the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into five municipal corporations. Despite stiff opposition from the BJP and JD (S), the Congress-led government is all set to divide the BBMP and hold elections.
Speaking on the proposed Bill, Shivakumar said: “There is a small clarification in this. Even though the Bill was passed earlier, some people had filed petitions in court. Therefore, we have now made it clear in this Bill that the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will not interfere in the matters of municipal corporations that come under the 74th Amendment of the Constitution.”
Shivakumar further stated: “According to the law currently in force, the GBA had the power to intervene in the affairs of municipal corporations under its jurisdiction. A PIL was filed in court alleging that municipalities were being brought under government control. To address this, we have now removed that provision.
Municipalities will not be brought under government control and will function independently. The GBA will not interfere in their activities. This amendment is meant only to provide clarity, he stated.
“Although the PIL was not upheld by the court, to avoid any confusion in the future, we have brought this amendment. We intend that mayors and corporators directly elected by the people should have complete authority. Today, we may be in power, tomorrow we may not — but there should not be any scope for disputes. That is why we removed it,” Shivakumar maintained.
Further, Shivakumar said: “I have studied rural and urban development extensively. I completed my degree at the age of 47, and in Political Science, my highest marks were in the subject of local bodies. When Rajiv Gandhi introduced the 73rd and 74th Amendments, he came to Karnataka. I had asked him about the purpose of these amendments. He told me that from Panchayats to Parliament, leaders must be nurtured. These amendments were intended to strengthen local bodies by granting them autonomy.”
He continued: “The Congress will never allow Rajiv Gandhi’s historic amendments to be diluted. When I was the Urban Development Minister, we made the Belur Declaration along with Revenue Minister Ghorpade. At that time, each Panchayat received only Rs 1 lakh in grants. During S.M. Krishna’s tenure, this was raised to Rs 5 lakhs, and later 27 departments were brought under Panchayats to empower them.”
“The small amendment we are bringing today is only to empower municipalities and prevent confusion. Some members, like BJP MLA Satish Redd,y have said certain villages in their constituencies were not included. If we include villages now, Panchayat members would automatically become municipal corporators, which could invite objections. Therefore, we will first conduct elections within existing municipal limits, and later, after discussions with all of you, we will decide on expanding boundaries.”
“Mahadevapura collects the highest tax revenues, whereas other parts of Bengaluru do not generate as much. In such cases, the state government has to provide financial support. But one municipality’s money cannot be transferred to another — if we do so, it would violate the 74th Amendment again. If you don’t want this amendment, tell me, and I will withdraw it. We have only brought this for the welfare of municipalities,” Shivakumar stated.
“If there is no interest in this amendment, I am ready to withdraw it. Our purpose is to ensure that when other parties come to power in the future, they cannot misuse it to bring municipalities under government control,” he said.
He reminded legislators: “Leaders like Suresh Kumar and Ramalinga Reddy first became corporators before entering the Assembly. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first president of the Allahabad Municipal Corporation. Rajagopalachari, Sardar Patel, and Kengal Hanumanthaiah were also municipal heads. Tamil Nadu CM Stalin was once the Mayor of Chennai. Leaders like B.D. Jatti and Vilasrao Deshmukh began as Panchayat presidents.”
“I don’t want to do politics over Bengaluru’s future, nor will I. Municipalities will have powers of taxation, financial autonomy, reservation, elections, and the state government will not interfere. The 74th Amendment is fully protected. This amendment is only for clarity and must be approved,” he appealed.
–IANS
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