Bengaluru: A 13-member committee comprising legislators from all three major political parties convened on Thursday for the first time to discuss the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill (GBGB).
The committee, which aims to finalise its work within the next three months, has decided to seek inputs from various stakeholders, including citizens.
Two-time Congress MLA from Shivajinagar Rizwan Arshad was unanimously elected the committee’s chairperson.
Speaking to DH, Arshad stated that the house panel has resolved to gather inputs from both policy experts and the public. "Our goal is to present the revised bill during the winter session, which is why we are targeting completion within the next three months," he said.
On August 22, Speaker U T Khadar formed the committee, comprising elected representatives from the Congress, BJP and JD(S). The MLAs include Rizwan Arshad, NA Haris, B Shivanna, ST Somashekar, Priyakrishna, AC Srinivas, S Suresh Kumar, SR Vishwanath, S Raghu and GT Devegowda. In addition, the committee includes three MLCs: Puttanna, UB Venkatesh and HS Gopinath.
The Siddaramaiah-led government had introduced the draft version of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill in the recent monsoon session. After Opposition members, including R Ashoka and CN Ashwath Narayana, raised concerns about certain provisions, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar referred the bill to the house committee.
The draft bill proposes the creation of a Greater Bengaluru Authority, headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, with city elected MLAs serving as special invitees. The bill also suggests the formation of up to 10 smaller corporations and the creation of up to 400 wards. The government plans to expand Bengaluru's boundary by 200 square kilometres. No changes have been proposed to the functioning of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).
Several citizen groups, including Citizens Action Forum (CAF), CIVIC Bangalore and Janaagraha, have opposed the draft bill, arguing that it contradicts the provisions of the 74th Amendment granting constitutional status to urban local bodies. They contend that the bill is designed to increase the power of MLAs in municipal governance.