By Kavitha Reddy
Even as the Government of Karnataka (GoK) misused its authority to postpone the civic polls, it is unaware that the BBMP is in a legal quagmire. As per the New BBMP Act, all Grama Panchayats (GP) that are in some of the constituencies of Bengaluru will become part of the Greater Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (GBMP). Which means, these Grama Panchayats will be part of the 243 wards of the GBMP.
But the real twist is in the recently-held Grama Panchayat elections and the upcoming Taluk Panchayat (TP) and Zilla Parshad (ZP) Elections. If GoK had the right intentions, it should have stopped the Grama Panchayat elections in the constituencies that are slated to come under the GBMP.
By allowing the Grama Panchayat elections, it has unwittingly created a legal mess. When the 243 wards are officially recognised, the GoK cannot force the already-elected Grama Panchayat members, TP and ZP Members to resign, and hold the elections again to the 243 wards.
This curious case of BBMP is similar to the situation faced by Tirupati Municipal Corporation a few years ago. The newly-elected members of the Grama Panchayat whose territories were to merge with the Tirupati Municipal Corporation (TMC) went to court demanding the completion of their term. The result was that TMC could not hold elections till their terms ended. A similar case happened in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), prompting the government to delay the inclusion of the Grama Panchayats that were still in term.
Serious questions arise. Was GoK not aware of this legal situation? Was it a deliberate plan to stall the BBMP elections further? Whatever the reason, Bengaluru is going to suffer. Without a fully-elected BBMP Council, the state government is running the civic body through an administrator with zonal-level Joint Commissioners and Nodal Officers who are literally powerless.
It’s time the Karnataka High Court steps in and pulls up the government for this lapse in reasoning and order it to hold the elections to 198 wards at the earliest. The GoK should also set the process rolling for the delimitation to form the 243 wards at the end of three years, so that when the term of BBMP and GP/TP/ZP ends in 2026, the New BBMP Act can be fully adopted and implemented in 2026.
The 74th constitutional amendment was for the devolution of power and make Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) like BBMP more independent and promote local governance. But right now, the ULBs are just paper tigers with the remote control in the hands of legislators and the state government. It has been over 28 years since the 73rd & 74th constitutional amendments were made to empower every village and local body to strengthen democracy from the Panchayat level to the Parliament, but the Promised Land is still elusive.
Unless the constitutionally-promised de-centralization is not made a reality, the Gandhian vision of strengthening grassroots democracy and self-rule will remain in the acts and not in deeds.
