Mr. Mathew Idiculla will talk about the recently proposed ‘Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2018. This relates to and builds upon some of our urban development work and recommendations to the BBMP Restructuring Committee. While it is specific to Bengaluru, this discourse is equally relevant and valuable for other large Indian cities as well.

A short note on the talk:

The Expert Committee on BBMP Restructuring set up by the Government of Karnataka to propose reforms for Bengaluru’s Municipal Corporation submitted the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill in May 2018. The Bill proposes a three-tier governance framework for Bengaluru with empowered Ward Committees at the lowest level, a set of Municipal Corporations in the middle level and a Greater Bengaluru Authority on top. The Bill also seeks to assign executive authority for elected bodies, institutionalize community participation, improve municipal finance systems, restructure municipal administration, introduce multi-scale plans and ensure accountability of parastatal agencies. While the state government has expressed that it is not keen to divide BBMP into multiple corporations, it has indicated its willingness to consider other measures suggested by the Bill. Hence, understanding the provisions of this Bill is important for anyone interested in Bengaluru’s future or in urban governance in India.