Decoding Bengaluru’s New Multi-Corporation Structure

Rapid Summary

• BBMP Split and Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA): bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been reorganized into five corporations. Discussions are ongoing about the transfer of functions and assets to GBA at the pan-city level, with activity mapping proposed for clarity.

• Major Infrastructure Projects: Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE) will oversee major road projects, including tunnel roads and arterial road maintenance that span multiple corporations. Roads within each corporation will remain under their individual jurisdiction.

• Solid waste Management: Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd. (BSWML) continues as the central agency for solid waste collection, transportation, and processing across corporations, funded through user fees collected by respective corporations as part of property tax.

• Storm Water Drains (SWDs) and Lakes: The city’s vast SWD network (829 km) and 210 lakes straddle multiple corporation boundaries.activists propose transferring these to BWSSB to unify water management responsibilities due to sewage-related challenges, while others argue that respective corporations should retain control over maintenance but coordinate with a higher body for capital expenditures.

• Town Planning Department: Smaller building approvals will stay at ward-level within new corporations. Debate continues on whether approval for high-rises should rest with GBA or individual corporations. trade licensing is similarly unresolved between centralized or decentralized issuance systems.

• Respective Corporations’ Tasks: Parks,streetlights,crematoriums remain under local corporation control.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The reorganization of BBMP into five smaller governing bodies signifies an intent to improve governance in growing urban areas like Bengaluru by decentralizing operations while coordinating large-scale projects through a centralized authority-GBA or specialized entities like B-SMILE and BSWML.This approach balances localized administration with unified oversight on critical infrastructure spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Water management emerges as a contentious topic; resolving whether BWSSB should oversee SWDs and lake upkeep could determine how effectively water resources are managed amidst increasing urban challenges like sewage treatment concerns. Coordination remains key here given interlinked issues such as stormwater drainage across overlapping boundaries of new jurisdictions.

Lastly, decisions regarding high-rise planning approvals and trade licenses reflect broader debates about centralization versus local autonomy in urban governance-a nuanced balancing act impacted by administrative efficiency demands versus jurisdictional accountability concerns crucial for Bangalore’s sustainable growth trajectory.

Read more: The Hindu