Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya on Monday termed the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill as poor policy making and another instance of the Siddaramaiah-led government’s “Misplaced priorities”. He also cautioned
that splitting the BBMP into multiple corporations will not only increase costs, duplicate budgets and create revenue confusion, but will worsen inefficiency and financial mismanagement.
“First, the bill violates the basic essence of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which gave primacy to decentralization of power,” Surya said in a series of posts on the social media platform X. “The creation of Greater Bengaluru Authority, an unelected council with the CM at its helm, over the Municipal body BBMP, renders the elected corporators toothless. The bill is an attempt of Power Grab by the State.”
This, he said, will lead to a situation where MLAs will dictate municipal affairs, overriding local governance.
“Bengaluru already has a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) for urban planning. Instead of strengthening it, the GBG Bill creates a parallel, unelected body with unchecked powers, leading to confusion and inefficiency,” he said.
He also said the GBG Bill does nothing to address issues related to traffic, water crisis or strengthening urban planning.
“Rather than strengthening agencies like the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA), it adds another bureaucratic layer without a clear roadmap for sustainable development.
“Bengaluru’s governance must be led by citizens, planners and elected representatives, not political bureaucracies.”
