Karnataka Assembly clears Bill to divide BBMP into smaller units; BJP MLAs walk out

Though the Bill was introduced in July 2024, it was referred to a joint legislature committee based on the demand of Opposition legislators, Shivakumar said.

“Existing structure of a city corporation will remain in all city corporations (under Greater Bengaluru Authority),” he said, adding that multiple committees will be formed under the Bill to monitor various infrastructure facilities. Up to seven city corporations can be formed as per the Bill.

“We will have to sit with them (representatives from Opposition parties) on how to divide BBMP geographically. We have to take the legislators into confidence,” Shivakumar said.

The proposed legislation was described by Leader of Opposition R Ashok as a move to ‘shatter’ the city built by Kempegowda. He argued that dividing BBMP into smaller corporations would create pockets of uneven growth. “Areas such as Mahadevapura, K R Puram or Hebbal will generate more tax revenue compared to parts of old Bengaluru where IT companies are not present,” he said, seeking clarification on how the state sought to address the issue.

Ashok said that dividing BBMP would result in Kannadigas becoming a minority in some corporations. “Certain corporations will not have Kannadiga as a mayor,” he said, adding that it would be detrimental to the interests of Kannada language.

BJP MLA Dr C N Ashwath Narayan demanded the treasury benches to drop the provision to divide Bengaluru. “Today, I urge the government not to break Bengaluru. Keep it as one,” he said, adding that the BJP was not opposed to the formation of a GBA. “Rather than political decentralisation of Bengaluru, go for administrative decentralisation,” he said.

Dividing the BBMP, BJP MLA S R Vishwanath argued, would lead to partisan allocation to smaller corporations where the elected council was not of the ruling government. Another BJP MLA S T Somashekar – who is linked to the Congress – favoured the Bill saying that it was essential as the city had grown far beyond the boundaries established by its founder Kempegowda.

Congress legislator Rizwan Arshad, who headed the joint legislature committee on the Bill, said that though everyone agreed during public consultations that the existing administrative set-up was not adequate for a large city such as Bengaluru, there were differing views on how it should be changed. “The provision to allow for seven smaller corporations is not for now. It is for the future, one or two decades down the line,” he said.

Responding to the debate, Shivakumar said that the government had made provisions to provide funds for corporations that did not generate enough revenue. Introducing fresh amendments related to Town Planning for the Bill, the deputy chief minister alluded that the BJP was opposing the Bill due to ‘political compulsions’.

As the Speaker U T Khader put the Bill to vote, the BJP raised slogans against the government and staged a walkout, with Ashok saying that the Bill was a black mark on Shivakumar.