BJP’s CV Raman Nagar legislator S Raghu has been appointed as the head of the joint legislature committee formed to review a comprehensive law for Bengaluru that promises a five-year mayoral term and area sabhas, among other reforms.
Raghu was chosen as head of the committee during its first meeting held Monday in the presence of Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri. The committee will submit its report in three months.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Bill, which the BJP government tabled in the Assembly when it was last in session in March, was referred to a joint panel after several MLAs, including those from the BJP, opposed it.
The Bill comes ahead of the elections to the BBMP Council whose term ends early next month. There is speculation that the BJP government will look to enact the Bill before the elections.
According to the Bill, the mayor will enjoy a five-year term. The city will be divided into zones — up to 15 of them — and each will have a committee chaired by a zonal commissioner. Zonal committees will be formed to implement projects. A chief commissioner will coordinate between the mayor, the city council, and the zonal committees.
Also, area sabhas will be formed comprising voters from the polling stations located in a particular area.
The Bill seeks to improve “decentralisation, integration of public participation at various levels of municipal governance, and ensuring efficient decision making by the municipal authorities".
The joint house panel comprises MLAs and MLCs from all parties. The members are: S Raghu, L A Ravi Subramanya, M Krishnappa, M Satish Reddy, Aravind Limbavali, Uday B Garudachar, S R Vishwanath, Narasimha Nayak, Ramalinga Reddy, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Krishna Byre Gowda, R Manjunath, K Srinivasa Murthy, M Narayanaswamy, K Govinda Raju, P R Ramesh, K A Thippeswamy, N Ravikumar, A Devegowda, and Tejasvini Gowda.