Five city corporations under Greater Bengaluru Authority come into effect: DK Shivakumar

Addressing a press conference at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday, Shivakumar said, "September 2 is a special day for Bengaluru. The five city corporations- Bengaluru Central Corporation, Bengaluru North Corporation, Bengaluru South Corporation, Bengaluru East Corporation, Bengaluru West Corporation have come into effect today. The Greater Bengaluru Authority, with 75 members, has been formed under the leadership of the Chief Minister on Aug 26."

The Deputy Chief Minister stated that all five corporate offices would be built following a uniform architectural design, and a prize of Rs 5 lakh has been announced for the best design. "We have also invited logo designs for the GBA," he added.

"We have appointed officials for the respective corporations. Each of the corporations will have a commissioner, an additional commissioner, a joint commissioner, KAS officials and a chief engineer. We have enhanced the number of zonal offices from 27 to 50, and the sub-zonal offices have been increased from 75 to 150," Shivakumar said.

Highlighting the governance structure, he stated that each corporation would have a provision for up to 150 wards. "Considering an average of 100 wards per corporation, the people will have an opportunity to elect 500 new leaders for the governance of the city. There would be a 50% reservation for women," he added.

Shivakumar said that from September 3, taxes would be collected by the new corporations and utilised solely for their respective jurisdictions. "Elections will be held for all five corporations soon. Wards will be formed with an average population of 30,000 to 40,000. We have made provision to add new areas to East, West and North corporations in the future," the Dy Chief Minister said.

When asked how the government would manage the finances, as some corporations are financially sound and some are weak, Shivakumar said, "It is not possible to transfer funds from one corporation to another. The government will have to chip in with support to fill the gap in some corporations."

"The objective is to give good administration. In the past, one had to approach the commissioner for even small things; now the GBA will only handle large projects in the city. The commissioners of the respective corporation would be responsible for all functions of the corporation. The administration has been decentralised. We have identified lands for building new offices for the corporations, and we will lay the foundation for these offices on November 1," the Dy CM said.

Earlier on Monday, the Deputy CM had announced the launch of the Greater Bengaluru Area Development Plan, under which five corporations would be established to implement developmental initiatives.

"The development of the Greater Bengaluru Area is starting from today (September 1), for which five corporations are being formed. A very senior official will be appointed as the Commissioner," Shivakumar said.

As part of the restructuring process, the Greater Bengaluru Authority has overhauled the city's administrative framework by establishing five distinct corporations - Bengaluru East, West, North, South and Central.

The Greater Bengaluru Governance (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was passed in the Legislative Council on August 21. (ANI)