The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024 (GBG) was tabled at the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on July 23rd. It outlines a three-tier structure to govern Bengaluru: A new body called the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) for coordinating and supervising the development of the Greater Bengaluru Area; ward committees as basic units of urban governance and to facilitate community participation; and ten City Corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area for effective, participatory and responsive governance.  However, the Bill has been criticised by several groups and urban practitioners for being in contravention of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which decentralises power to lower levels…

Dear Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, We write to you to express some concerns that Citizens' Action Forum (CAF) and a significant section of the citizenry have regarding the proposed restructuring of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). At the outset, we do believe that there are positives in the concept. However, there are concerns with the process, a few assumptions made, and the lack of details regarding the implementation of such a major decision. Read more: Will restructuring into 10 zones help BBMP? Our concerns are listed as follows: There is an assumption that the principal problem plaguing BBMP’s…