Following the furore over selecting more than 550 people for the Kempegowda awards, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike plans to set up a committee to screen the applicants.
The ruling party leader in the BBMP, M Shivaraju, on Friday wrote to Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, saying fresh guidelines will be issued to applicants next year. "Eligible applicants will be selected by the committee, which will be formed at the state government level," Shivaraju said in the letter. Representatives from different fields will become members of the panel, he further said.
The Kempegowda awards are given to Bengalureans who distinguish themselves in different fields like literature, art and culture, among others.
But the award winners were so many in number at the September 1 ceremony that they became the butt of all jokes. Many names were added in the last moment, creating chaos at the ceremony.