A commission led by former Karnataka High Court judge, K Bhakthavatsala, recommended changing Section 10 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (KMC) Act, 1976, to reflect the fact that the mayor and deputy mayor of every city corporation shall hold office for a term of 30 months, as is the case with the mayor and deputy mayor of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) under the BBMP Act, 2020. It made the suggestion on Thursday, July 21.
The commission suggested amending Section 10 of the KMC Act, 1976. “As per section 57 of the BBMP Act, 2020, the term of office of the mayor and deputy mayor is 30 months from the date of election. But, according to section 10 of the KMC Act, 1976, the term of the mayor and deputy mayor is 12 months. Therefore, section 10 of the KMC Act requires it to be amended,” it stated.
The commission suggested that the mayor and deputy mayor positions in the BBMP be reserved for people belonging to Other Backward Castes (OBCs). According to the commission, OBCs falling under Categories A and B were given preference under section 10 of the KMC Act, 1976, in up to one-third of all positions for the mayor and deputy mayor in the state. However, it noted that the BBMP Act's section 58, which deals with seat reservations for OBCs for the positions of mayor and deputy mayor, is silent in this regard.
There are 243 wards in Bengaluru and each of these has council members who indirectly elect the mayor and deputy mayor for terms of one year. All Members of Parliament, Members of the Legislative Assembly, and Members of the Legislative Council may vote in the elections for mayor, with the exception of the corporators themselves. The mayor only has ceremonial authority due to the brief tenure, in contrast to the Chief Minister, who is in command of the state for five years. Additionally, under a quota system established by the State Election Commission, candidates from the General, Other Backward Class (OBC), Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST), and women are eligible to run for the positions of mayor and deputy mayor.
This is not the first time a commission has recommended increasing the tenure of the mayor and deputy mayor of BBMP from 12 months to 30 months. A 22-member committee, headed by BJP MLA S Raghu, was appointed by the Karnataka government in 2020 to revise the KMC Act of 1956 and introduce the BBMP Bill. The committee proposed that the mayor and the deputy mayor should take office for 30 months starting on the day of their election and stay in place until their replacement is chosen.
The present recommendations are the scaled-back versions of the modifications suggested by the BS Patil Committee formed by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Siddaramaiah administration enacted the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill in 2015, which advocated for the decentralisation of authority in Bengaluru. However, the then governor, Vajubhai Vala, did not approve the bill.
Despite repeated proposals to extend the terms of mayor and deputy mayor in BBMP, the reforms have not yet been implemented.