The State government on Monday reconvened the BBMP Restructuring Committee, which the previous Congress regime had formed.
The committee, led by former Chief Secretary B.S. Patil, with former Civic Commissioner Siddaiah and urbanist V. Ravichandar as its members, had recommended splitting the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into multiple corporations, a proposal that met resistance and was not implemented.
This time around, the committee has been given a larger mandate to reimagine Bengaluru governance and administration, covering not only the BBMP but all related departments and parastatals, like the Urban Development Department, the BDA, the BWSSB, the BMRDA, the DULT, the BMLTA, the city police, the Fire and Emergency Services, the Slum Board, etc., and corporations like the BMTC, Bescom, BMRCL, and Suburban Rail.
The committee has also been mandated to “work towards implementation of the recommendations subject to government approval” and has been tasked with “improving quality of life for all citizens in Bengaluru”, “strengthening Brand Bengaluru through these actions”, and to “improve governance and administration for better citizen-centric deliverables”.
The committee has also been tasked with ensuring “deep de-centralisation at the ward level with citizens participating and appropriate centralisation at the apex levels, while being consistent with the spirit of the 74th Amendment including the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) set up”.
