BBMP out, Greater Bengaluru Authority in: how city governance is set to change from today | Bangalore News

Ward Delimitation Commission

The Government has also issued an order establishing the Ward Delimitation Commission and laying down guidelines and a timeline for redrawing boundaries for wards in Bengaluru’s five new municipal corporations — Central, East, West, North, and South — under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act 2024. This marks the next step in operationalising the city’s new governance model following the division of the BBMP.

Based on the 2011 Census, Bengaluru’s population was about 85 lakh, projected to rise to 1.44 crore by 2023. Population distribution is uneven across the five corporations, ranging from 13 lakh in Bengaluru East to 45 lakh in Bengaluru West, with Central, North, and South at 25 lakh, 31 lakh, and 30 lakh, respectively. Population density also varies widely, from over 32,000 people per sq km in Central Bengaluru to just 7,700 in East Bengaluru.

Given these variations, the Government has set the average ward population at 20,000 (as per the 2011 census), allowing a ±25 per cent variation. The number of wards in each corporation will be determined by dividing its population by this average, subject to the 150-ward cap under Section 29(3)(a) of the Act.

Guidelines state that wards must lie fully within Assembly constituencies, be geographically compact, and avoid enclaves or isolated areas. Natural features like hills or ravines should be respected, and socially distinct areas such as colonies or slums kept intact wherever possible. A ±20 per cent deviation in ward population is permitted to balance density differences.

The Government has also fixed a clear timeline for this process. On Tuesday, it issued the final notification establishing the five corporations along with the order for ward formation. By September 23, the Ward Re-Delimitation Commission must submit its report on ward formation to the Government. Within three days — by September 26 — the Government will publish a draft notification based on this report. Citizens will then have two weeks, until October 10, to file objections or suggestions. The Commission will review these submissions and forward its final recommendations to the government by October 17. The entire process is expected to conclude with the Government issuing its final notification on November 1, 2025.

Why Greater Bengaluru Authority?

In 2007, the Karnataka Government issued a notification to merge the areas under the then Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike with eight urban local bodies and 111 villages around the city to form a single administrative body, and the body was renamed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Touted as the fourth largest municipal corporation in India, the administrative body was responsible for all civic amenities and infrastructural assets of the Greater Bengaluru metropolitan area. Its responsibilities included zoning and building regulations, health, hygiene, licensing, trade, and education. Additionally, the civic agency was also responsible for quality-of-life issues at public open spaces, water bodies, parks, and greenery.

However, Bengaluru, with a population exceeding 13 million and facing constant infrastructural and service delivery challenges, struggled under a single civic body, prompting the Government to introduce the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act 2024. The GBG Act 2024 will bring in a three-tier structure to governance in Bengaluru with the chief minister-led GBA at the pan-city level, which, for the first time, brings together all parastatals in the city on one platform along with five city corporations and ward committees. On August 26, the Government formally constituted the GBA under the GBG Act 2024 with 75 members.

Functions and structure of GBA

At the top of the GBG Act sits the Greater Bengaluru Authority, headed by the chief minister and comprising Bengaluru ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, the mayors of the five city corporations, the chief commissioner (as member-secretary), and the heads of key civic agencies such as Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bescom, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, along with senior officials like the police commissioner and deputy commissioners. Meeting once in three months, it oversees big-picture planning, city-wide policies, and coordination.

Supporting it is the GBA Executive Committee, chaired by the Bengaluru development minister. The committee includes the chief commissioner, the commissioners of the five corporations, civic agency heads, the police commissioner, the fire services, and the chief town planner. This body meets every two months to implement and monitor decisions, functioning as the operational engine.

On the ground, Bengaluru is divided into five city Corporations—East, West, North, South, and Central—each led by a mayor and deputy mayor, a council of councillors, and supported by standing committees and an IAS Commissioner with their team. These corporations manage day-to-day civic services such as roads, drains, garbage, parks, public health, and education. They will also have smaller wards with significant autonomy over their affairs, including financial matters, taxation, and local elections, consistent with constitutional mandates.

At the grassroots, the ward committees serve as the direct citizen interface. Each ward has a 14-member committee for 20 months, with half of the members nominated (ensuring representation for women, SC/ST, OBC, minorities, and resident welfare associations) and half chosen by a draw of lots, headed by the elected councillor. These committees are aimed at giving residents a stronger voice in governance by monitoring local services like garbage collection, water, streetlights, and ward-level works.

Other key appointments

The Government also appointed commissioners for the five newly constituted corporations under the GBA, with Rejendra Cholan appointed for the Bengaluru Central City Corporation, Ramesh D S for the East City Corporation, Pommala Sunil Kumar for the North City Corporation, Ramesh K N for the South City Corporation, and Rajendra K V for the West City Corporation.
The Government has also appointed IPS officer Roopa D as additional director-general of police, Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF), and IPS officer Mutharaju M as superintendent of police, BMTF, under the GBA.

Latha R is posted as additional commissioner (development), North City Corporation; Pandve Rahul Tukaram as additional commissioner (development), South City Corporation; Lokhande Snehal Sudhakar as additional commissioner (development), East City Corporation; Digvijay Bodke, as additional commissioner (development), West City Corporation; and Rahul Sharnappa Sankanur as additional commissioner (development), Central City Corporation.