Bengaluru bodies under Greater Bengaluru Act remain pending after a year

Bengaluru has five city corporations and five separate commissioners, but the institutions meant to coordinate planning and involve residents in local decision-making remain incomplete a year after the Greater Bengaluru Authority came into effect.

The Economic Development Agency mandated under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act has not been established. The agency was intended to attract investment and promote employment across Greater Bengaluru, including through public-private partnerships. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee, which is tasked with combining plans from different levels into a development plan for the metropolitan area, is also non-functional.

Elections to the five corporations have been postponed repeatedly, leaving ward committees yet to be constituted. Civic activist Kathyayini Chamaraj said nodal officers have held informal ward committee meetings in place of councillors, but these do not provide institutionalised citizen participation. She said Area Sabhas, which allowed voters to participate locally under the BBMP Act, 2020, were dropped from the newer law.

Work has meanwhile begun on a GIS-based Comprehensive Master Plan for Greater Bengaluru with a 2047 vision. Urban experts have said major projects, including elevated corridors and tunnels, need assessment within a wider planning framework before they are finalised and tendered.