K'taka BJP opposes replacement of BBMP with Greater Bengaluru Authority

Bengaluru, May 15 (IANS) Opposing the Congress-led government's decision to replace the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) with the newly formed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), the BJP said on Thursday that it will challenge the move legally when it returns to power in the state.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said, “If the BJP comes to power, it will work to unify Bengaluru and fight the Greater Bengaluru plan legally.”

Ashoka further accused the Congress government of turning Bengaluru from "Greater" to "Quarter" Bengaluru. While the founder of Bengaluru, Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda, built a unified Bengaluru, the Congress government has divided it into three parts, hindering development.

He alleged that higher taxes have been imposed on 110 villages and that the plan was designed to benefit certain landholders, betraying Kempe Gowda’s vision. Dividing Bengaluru will not generate revenue, he argued, as IT-BT hubs are concentrated in one area, leaving others without income.

If three municipal corporations are created, there is no guarantee that Kannadigas will become mayors, Ashoka added.

Since Chief Ministers are not elected from municipal corporations, how can Siddaramaiah be made chairman of the Greater Bengaluru Authority? Ashoka questioned.

He said Siddaramaiah cannot attend municipal meetings, and the BJP opposes Bengaluru’s division. If the BJP comes to power, it will work to unify Bengaluru and fight the Greater Bengaluru plan legally.

Ashoka accused Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar of acting for personal gain. He claimed BDA layouts remain vacant without water or electricity, and the division plan was made to postpone BBMP elections. Garbage piles up across the city, the Mekedatu project remains unimplemented, and the city’s administration is failing, he said. Instead of admitting these failures, Congress has brought this plan, said Ashoka.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the Governor Thawarchand Gehlot has given assent to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, and it will come into effect on Thursday.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will be replaced with the newly formed Greater Bengaluru Authority, said the Chief Minister while speaking to the media at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.

The Greater Bengaluru Bill has been passed in both the Houses of the state legislature, he added.

The Karnataka Government had officially notified the formation of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Tuesday, marking the end of the BBMP as the city’s governing body. The state government has announced that the land coming under the BBMP has been notified as the land which will come under the GBA as per Section 1 (2) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024.

--IANS

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