Bengaluru to have three corporations under GBG Act, indicates CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announces notification of Greater Bengaluru Area with at least three corporations, gradual transition expected.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, while announcing the notification of the Greater Bengaluru Area on Thursday, said that there will be at least three corporations in Bengaluru.

The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, that has come into effect from May 15, Thursday, provides for one to seven municipal corporations, each with up to 150 wards. Mr. Siddaramaiah has now indicated that the current civic limits will likely be divided into three corporations.

However, till the new corporations are notified, the current Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will continue to work as it is. All functionaries will continue to have the same powers and discharge duties as per the BBMP Act, 2020. The transition will be gradual, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Urban Development Department (UDD) on Thursday notified that the present civic limits - BBMP area of 709 sq kms - will be the new Greater Bengaluru Area.

The Brand Bengaluru Committee and the Joint Legislature Committee that looked into the law recommended earmarking the Greater Bengaluru Area to be governed by the Chief Minister-led Greater Bengaluru Authority, at around 1,000 sq. km, including around 25 urban villages on the city’s outskirts. The act provides for the same.

However, the UDD has now notified the Greater Bengaluru Area to be only the existing BBMP area of 709 sq. km.

“There was an intense lobby by legislators of several areas around Bengaluru, including as far as parts of Tumakuru district, to include them in the Greater Bengaluru Area. Not all requests can be accommodated. Moreover, at least till new corporations are drawn up, some bare minimum civic infrastructure comes up in these new villages, just declaring them as part of civic limits will only confuse. So, as a beginning, we have declared the BBMP area as Greater Bengaluru Area, but this will probably be expanded as and when we draw up the boundaries of multiple corporations,” a senior official said.