Campaign partners: Bengaluru Townhall
Decision maker:
Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot, Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka
Demands:
Reject the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2024 (GBGB 2024)
Establish an expert committee to formulate a common governance framework for all cities
The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill introduces several ‘unconstitutional’ provisions that undermine Bengaluru’s local self governance by violating the 74th Constitutional Amendment – shifting powers from the local municipal bodies to the state government. Can we allow this to happen to a city we call our home?
The recent passage of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2024 in the Karnataka State Legislative Council raises significant concerns for the city. – shifting powers from the local municipal bodies to the state government.
Why should you oppose it?
While claiming to be an attempt at decentralisation and devolution, the bill is actually an act of re-centralisation and colonial behaviour.
The Bill aims to create a colonial superstructure called Greater Bengaluru Authority led by the CM, which presides over democratically elected civic bodies. GBA also adds another bureaucratic layer with maximum government, minimum governance as an outcome.
The bill introduces several ‘unconstitutional’ provisions that undermine Bengaluru’s local self governance by violating the 74th Constitutional Amendment (Nagarpalika Act 1992)
Elections to local bodies are uncertain. The bill leaves the conduct of elections to the State Govt instead of the State Election Commission, violating the Constitution, and allowing the State Govt to avoid holding elections to BBMP, at its whims and fancies.
It threatens to weaken local governance structures by transferring power from locally elected Corporators, Ward Committees and Area Sabhas to MPs, MLAs and MLC’s, thereby reducing citizens’ participation and say.
The passage of the bill could have adverse consequences for the city, as it will cause unbalanced development between different parts of the city again through the whims of the state govt.
The bill perpetuates the Unplanned Development that Bengauru suffers from, by sidelining the Metropolitan Planning Committee (the constitutionally prescribed Planning authority).
The bill goes against the very grain of the constitution, which envisages Grassroot Democracy: the ward committees will be stripped away of any decision-making powers, reducing their status to that of mere ‘advisors’; and the Area Sabhas have been altogether done away with, which makes the bill an epic attempt at power grab, which would make our erstwhile colonial British Rulers proud, and put Gandhiji to shame.
The bill imposes an unconstitutional layer of Govt in the form of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, which will exert colonial authority over the Local City Govt.
If the bill is implemented, it will lead to different governance laws for Bengaluru and other cities, violating the tenets of ‘equality before law’ in Article 14 of the constitution.
Read more here
Instead of fixing the city’s long-standing pressing civic issues such as lack of last-mile connectivity, reducing fares to make public transport more accessible, water scarcity, poor drainage system, and increasing urban heat island effect, our government has introduced a bill that takes away the voice of the people as it continues to divert funds into unsustainable infrastructure that will only worsen this urban nightmare.
Sources:
Campaign partners: Bengaluru Townhall
Decision maker:
Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot, Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka
Demands:
Reject the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2024 (GBGB 2024)
Establish an expert committee to formulate a common governance framework for all cities
The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill introduces several ‘unconstitutional’ provisions that undermine Bengaluru’s local self governance by violating the 74th Constitutional Amendment – shifting powers from the local municipal bodies to the state government. Can we allow this to happen to a city we call our home?
The recent passage of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2024 in the Karnataka State Legislative Council raises significant concerns for the city. – shifting powers from the local municipal bodies to the state government.
Why should you oppose it?
While claiming to be an attempt at decentralisation and devolution, the bill is actually an act of re-centralisation and colonial behaviour.
The Bill aims to create a colonial superstructure called Greater Bengaluru Authority led by the CM, which presides over democratically elected civic bodies. GBA also adds another bureaucratic layer with maximum government, minimum governance as an outcome.
The bill introduces several ‘unconstitutional’ provisions that undermine Bengaluru’s local self governance by violating the 74th Constitutional Amendment (Nagarpalika Act 1992)
Elections to local bodies are uncertain. The bill leaves the conduct of elections to the State Govt instead of the State Election Commission, violating the Constitution, and allowing the State Govt to avoid holding elections to BBMP, at its whims and fancies.
It threatens to weaken local governance structures by transferring power from locally elected Corporators, Ward Committees and Area Sabhas to MPs, MLAs and MLC’s, thereby reducing citizens’ participation and say.
The passage of the bill could have adverse consequences for the city, as it will cause unbalanced development between different parts of the city again through the whims of the state govt.
The bill perpetuates the Unplanned Development that Bengauru suffers from, by sidelining the Metropolitan Planning Committee (the constitutionally prescribed Planning authority).
The bill goes against the very grain of the constitution, which envisages Grassroot Democracy: the ward committees will be stripped away of any decision-making powers, reducing their status to that of mere ‘advisors’; and the Area Sabhas have been altogether done away with, which makes the bill an epic attempt at power grab, which would make our erstwhile colonial British Rulers proud, and put Gandhiji to shame.
The bill imposes an unconstitutional layer of Govt in the form of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, which will exert colonial authority over the Local City Govt.
If the bill is implemented, it will lead to different governance laws for Bengaluru and other cities, violating the tenets of ‘equality before law’ in Article 14 of the constitution.
Read more here
Instead of fixing the city’s long-standing pressing civic issues such as lack of last-mile connectivity, reducing fares to make public transport more accessible, water scarcity, poor drainage system, and increasing urban heat island effect, our government has introduced a bill that takes away the voice of the people as it continues to divert funds into unsustainable infrastructure that will only worsen this urban nightmare.
Sources: