As the state government goes ahead with its plans to split Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into multiple corporations, Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF), a group of people and civil society leaders, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay on several sections of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act 2024 and declaring them as unconstitutional, arbitrary, and unreasonable.
The PIL seeks to strike down the establishment of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), its composition, powers, and functions, including urban planning, infrastructure development, and coordination of local bodies. The GBA can issue directives, acquire land, manage funds, and delegate powers to municipal corporations, which are also tasked with managing public markets, collecting taxes, and forming ward committees for local governance.
The petition challenges sections 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 85, 95, 96, 100(2)(iv), 101, 103(4), 129(2), 130, 137(2), 145, and 249 of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, which was notified by the state government on April 24.
The PIL also contests provisions allowing the GBA to borrow funds, prepare budgets, and undergo audits, as well as the state government’s rule-making powers and the repeal of conflicting laws such as the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976.
Vijayan Menon, vice-president of CAF, told The Indian Express, “The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, blatantly violates the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which entrusts city governance to municipalities as the third tier of governance. The amendment calls for devolving power to local bodies, but this Bill hands control to the state government and bureaucracy, stripping away local authority. The Greater Bengaluru Authority, set up under the Bill, is dominated by the chief minister and bureaucrats, with elected leaders, including mayors, relegated to a mere 1:5 ratio in representation.”
He said the state’s role should be oversight, not running the city. “By marginalizing elected representatives, the Bill undermines the democratic principles meant to empower our municipalities,” he said.
The petitioner has requested the court to issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ to strike down the sections. Additionally, the petitioner has sought an interim stay on the operation of these sections until the final disposal of the case, citing urgency and grounds for interim relief.
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The petition is set to be listed for a preliminary hearing before the Division Bench of the High Court.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar said on Tuesday that the new Greater Bengaluru Authority would have five city corporations under it. This comes ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, where the subject is likely to be discussed, before the new corporations are notified by the government.
“We have formed the GBA. After this, we will definitely form five corporations,” he said in Bengaluru, speaking at a convention of implementation committees for the Congress government’s various guarantee schemes.
Shivakumar said elections would be held soon for the new bodies. There has been some opposition to dividing BBMP into smaller bodies, but the split is essential to improve administration in the city, he added.
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Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, who headed a joint legislature committee on the GBA Act, had said that each of the smaller corporations was likely to have 80 to 100 corporators.
