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The three-member Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Restructuring Committee has allayed fears over the loss of the Bengaluru brand.
“One of the arguments against splitting BBMP in the public debate has been the fear of the loss of the Bengaluru brand. This implicitly assumes brand Bengaluru is dependent on BBMP remaining as a single unit forever. This is not the case,” said V Ravichandar, Restructuring Committee member and urban planner.
“Brand Bengaluru is shaped by its people, its ethos, its culture, its vibrancy, its promise among a host of other factors. BBMP by no yardstick can be considered to be the sign-post of Brand Bengaluru and it is extremely unlikely that the founder of Bengaluru visualised a future day BBMP as the flag-bearer of the city,” he added.
The committee recommendation to make it into multiple units is driven by a desire to make the city more manageable and more liveable, Ravichander said.
London has 33 boroughs but its brand is one of the best in the world. Former Mayor Ken Livingstone had opined that ideally London should have been 5 super boroughs for a stronger borough presence and better management of the area.
“Our recommendation for a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will help build, sustain and nurture Brand Bengaluru,” Ravichandar added.
StatisticsBengaluru Municipal Corporation with a population of 10 million is governed by the same Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act that is applicable for a population of three lakh city like Tumkur Municipal Corporation. It is over nine times bigger than the next largest city (Hubli Dharwad) in the State but the governance and administration rules that govern it are the same.
“This is untenable and Bengaluru needs a separate Act that is customised for its special needs as a large, growing metropolis,” he said.
The report contains the key elements needed in the new Act for Bengaluru. The Committee strongly recommends that a new Act to enable the governance of Bengaluru as per the 3 tier framework set out be done at the earliest to substitute the KMC Act.
The Karnataka Town & Country Planning Act (KTCP) is another Act that needs to address Bengaluru’s concerns separately – currently a small town like Beltangadi (population 7,746) follows the same KTCP rules applicable to Bengaluru.
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