One year on, how has the Greater Bengaluru Authority fared?
One year since the restructuring of Bengaluru's civic administration took effect, the performance of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) is under review
The restructuring was designed to address micro-level civic issues through administrative decentralisation, replacing the earlier single mega-corporation model
The erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was split into multiple smaller City Corporations under an overarching metropolitan authority
Assessment of the reform's first year focuses on whether decentralisation has translated into better service delivery at the ward level
Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 — A New Three-Tier Urban Model
The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 restructured Bengaluru's civic governance into a three-tier system: the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) at the apex for metropolitan-level coordination, five City Corporations for municipal administration, and Ward Committees for local-level decentralisation. It repealed the earlier Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020, which had governed Bengaluru as a single unified corporation.
Key Details
- Act enacted 2024; came into force 23 April 2025; the new governance system became operational for the city from around September 2025
- Bengaluru was divided into five City Corporations — East, West, Central, North, and South — each with its own mayor, council, and administrative commissioner
- Greater Bengaluru's area is approximately 741 sq km, divided into 198 wards under the new structure
- The GBA itself is chaired by the Chief Minister and includes state ministers, MPs/MLAs/MLCs from Bengaluru, and the mayors of all five City Corporations
The one-year review directly evaluates whether this new three-tier structure has delivered on its founding rationale — decentralisation to address hyperlocal civic issues that a single mega-corporation (the erstwhile BBMP) struggled to manage across a rapidly growing metropolitan area.
74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 — Constitutional Basis for Urban Local Bodies
The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) into the Constitution, giving constitutional status to urban local bodies (Municipalities) and mandating Metropolitan Planning Committees for large urban agglomerations. It provides the constitutional scaffolding within which state legislatures, like Karnataka's for Bengaluru, design their own municipal laws.
Key Details
- Article 243Q mandates constitution of Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils, and Municipal Corporations based on population, density, and other criteria
- Article 243ZE mandates a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) for every metropolitan area with population exceeding 10 lakh, to prepare a draft development plan for the whole metropolitan area
- At least two-thirds of MPC members must be elected from among municipal councillors and panchayat chairpersons within the metropolitan area
- The Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee, constituted in 2018, functions alongside the newer GBA structure, illustrating the layered nature of metropolitan governance mandated by the 74th Amendment
The GBA restructuring is a state-level implementation choice operating within the 74th Amendment's constitutional framework for urban local self-government; the "one year on" evaluation is a live case study in how a state exercises this constitutional space to redesign municipal architecture for a megacity.
Decentralisation vs Coordination Trade-off in Metropolitan Governance
A recurring theme in Indian urban governance is the trade-off between decentralisation (smaller, more accountable civic units) and coordination (unified planning and service delivery across a metropolitan region). Splitting a single mega-corporation into multiple corporations under an overarching authority is one model for balancing this trade-off, distinct from alternatives like a single unified corporation or a directly elected metropolitan mayor.
Key Details
- Comparable models: Delhi's three-way municipal split (2012) that was later reunified into a single Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 2022, offering a cautionary counter-example
- Ward Committees under the GBA framework are intended to be the lowest tier of decentralised decision-making, addressing the "micro-level" issues cited in assessments of the reform
- Effectiveness of such restructuring is typically judged on parameters such as grievance redressal turnaround, budget devolution to lower tiers, and coordination on cross-corporation infrastructure (roads, drainage, solid waste)
The Delhi precedent — where a similar three-way municipal split was reversed after roughly a decade due to coordination and revenue-sharing difficulties — provides a comparative benchmark against which GBA's first-year performance can be analytically assessed for a Mains answer.
- Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024: came into force 23 April 2025; repealed the BBMP Act, 2020
- Three-tier structure: Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) → 5 City Corporations (East, West, Central, North, South) → Ward Committees
- Greater Bengaluru area: approximately 741 sq km; divided into 198 wards
- 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992: inserted Part IXA (Articles 243P–243ZG); Article 243ZE mandates Metropolitan Planning Committees for metropolitan areas with population over 10 lakh
- Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC): constituted 8 June 2018, 30 members
- Comparable precedent: Delhi's tri-municipal split (2012) was reunified into a single Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 2022