The Karnataka government is set to introduce the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024, during the upcoming Budget session of the State Legislature. The Bill will restructure the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into two or three corporations, and following its passage, the long-pending BBMP elections will be conducted in May, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy confirmed.
Since the term of the last BBMP Council ended in September 2020, elections have been repeatedly postponed. Speaking at a press conference, Reddy stated that the Bill, originally tabled in the Legislative Assembly in July 2024, had been sent for review to a Joint Legislature Committee led by Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad. With the committee now having submitted its findings, the Bill is expected to be discussed and approved in the legislature.
Reddy criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for opposing the Bill, accusing the party of neglecting Bengaluru’s development. “The BJP does not want the development of Bengaluru. It only wants votes. That is why it is opposing the Greater Bengaluru Bill,” he said. He argued that a single mayor and commissioner could not effectively govern the city, adding that, in his opinion, there should be two or three corporations for Bengaluru to develop.
The minister also accused the previous BJP government of failing to allocate adequate funds for Bengaluru’s development. “The statement that funds were given to Bengaluru when the BJP was in power is a complete lie. When HD Kumaraswamy's government was in power, Rs 7,000 crore was allocated for the development of Bengaluru,” he said.
Comparing fund allocations, he alleged that, during the BJP rule, Congress-held constituencies received only Rs 1,600 crore, while Rs 5,000 crore was allocated to BJP constituencies.
Reddy also alleged that BJP MLAs ST Somashekar, Munirathna, and Byrathi Basavaraja received disproportionately high funds from the BJP government while other areas were neglected. He added when the Congress government took over in 2023, BBMP had Rs 6,000 crore outstanding in bills and loans, as well as debts in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), BESCOM, and other agencies. “Now they are spreading misinformation against us. Why didn’t BJP hold BBMP elections?” he questioned.
Listing Congress-led infrastructure projects, Reddy cited “400 km of roads, footpaths, road widening, tender sure projects, signal-free corridors, white topping, skywalks at eight locations, bus shelters, parking systems, solid waste management, Indira Canteens, and lake development,” and challenged the BJP to name any major contributions from its tenure.
He also blamed the BJP for Bengaluru’s urban issues. “It was the BJP that turned Bengaluru from a Garden City to a garbage city. During their tenure, many buildings were mortgaged. We have paid them all,” he said.