Setting up of Greater Bengaluru finance panel recommended

The three-member Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Restructuring Committee has recommended the setting up of a Greater Bengaluru Finance Commission.

“The need for a Greater Bengaluru Finance Commission is evident for a three-tier setup where decisions on fiscal flows need to be made in an objective, non-partisan manner,” said BS Patil, former Chief Secretary and Chairman of BBMP Restructuring Committee.

“Decisions need to be made on the formula for flow of grants to the multiple municipal corporations and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) based on assessed needs across the five civic bodies,” he added.

Further, the committee has also suggested that wards be incentivised by allowing a proportion of the property tax collected to be retained for ward projects.

In the new system, the SFC allotted funds would devolve to the GBA which would use the Greater Bengaluru Finance Commission norms to do the further distribution. They would also set out proportion of own funds that can be retained by the civic bodies.

According to Patil, the committee has suggested some of the terms of reference for the proposed Greater Bengaluru Finance Commission: suggestions on the distribution of financial resources between agencies under the GBA jurisdiction, and between those agencies and their underlying zones/wards.

Recommend measures to augment financial resources of agencies in the GBA jurisdiction through both tax and non-tax revenues, including the GBA itself, its constituent municipalities and other agencies.

Review the financial position and financial performance of the GBA and its constituents and make recommendations on measures to improve financial sustainability, including appropriate Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management mechanisms.

Review standards for Public Expenditure Management processes and systems, comprising financial reporting standards, budgeting standards, performance measurement and reporting standards, related data and information architecture and systems.

The committee has also suggested the city to have a Greater Bengaluru Services Ombudsman to redress citizen grievances related to service delivery failure of civic agencies.

The Ombudsman will differ from the Lok Ayukta in that s/he will concern himself only with service level complaints and not corruption / financial irregularities.

This can be modelled on the office of the Local Government Ombudsman in the UK and the City Ombudsman in Cape Town, the panel said.

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