Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Bill 2024: Key Highlights, Summary, PDF Download & BBMP Restructuring

The Karnataka Government passed the contentious Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024 (‘GBG Bill’), on 10 March 2025. The GBG Bill proposes to replace the existing BBMP Act, 2021. It will also split the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into several corporations and make structural changes.

Read on to know more about the:

• Key provisions provided in the GBG Bill
• What will be the impact of the GBG Bill?
• Members and their functions under the GBG Bill

What is the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Bill?

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed the GBG Bill to replace the current BBMP Act in Bangalore city. This new legislation empowers ward committees, encourages participatory governance, and reinforces democratic accountability at the grassroots level. 

It proposes up to seven city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), which is responsible for coordinating agencies and governance. It provides for a three-tier structure: the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), City Corporations, and Ward Committees.

Key Highlights of Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill

• A Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will be constituted. The GBA will be chaired by the Chief Minister, and an Executive Committee will assist it with daily functions.
• The Greater Bengaluru Region will be divided into multiple city corporations, up to seven corporations, each with up to 150 wards.
• The GBA will coordinate the functioning of the city corporations.
• The GBG Bill provides for a three-tier system of urban governance, consisting of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), City Corporations, and Ward Committees.
• Corporations will be divided into wards with a Ward Committee.
• Each city corporation area should have a population of more than 10 lakh, with more than 5,000 inhabitants per sq km, and the revenue generated from the area for the local administration in the last census year must have been more than Rs. 300 crore.
• The government will notify zones within each city corporation. 
• Corporations have the authority to collect property taxes.
• The government will determine Property tax rates in consultation with GBA.
• The term for mayors and deputy mayors will be 30 months.
• The Ward Committees will ensure the collection of taxes.
• The state government will appoint a Joint Commissioner for a zone responsible for carrying out civic administration in the zone. The Joint Commissioner will also supervise and coordinate with Ward Committees and perform functions directed by the Commissioner or Mayor.

Objectives of Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill

The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill aims to improve urban governance by enhancing political accountability, empowering ward committees, and creating a decentralised and participative system for citizen welfare. It enhances the speed of infrastructure deployment, streamlines public service delivery, and reduces bureaucratic delays.

Impact of GBG Bill

The GBG Bill is designed to supersede and replace the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Act, 2021, in Bengaluru city. The new Bill reshapes the institutional framework governing Bengaluru’s civic infrastructure. The new apex body, the Greater Bengaluru Authority, will coordinate among various civic agencies.

The GBG Bill, 2025, reorganises the municipal landscape of Bengaluru to decentralise planning, improve service delivery, and bolster transparency across India’s urban region. It provides for structural transformation to break up the often overstretched BBMP into a maximum of seven distinct city corporations. It proposes decentralising powers by providing them to legislators at the local governance level. This gives neighbourhoods better access to responsive administration. 

Members of Greater Bengaluru Governance

The Chief Minister heads the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and the Chief Commissioner will be the member secretary. It will also include key ministers, city mayors, and heads of civic agencies.

The other members of the GBA with voting rights include the following people: 

• Minister of Bengaluru Development 
• State Ministers from constituencies in the GBA 
• All MPs and MLAs from constituencies or residences within the GBA
• Mayors of the city corporations 
• Commissioner of Police 
• Chief town planner and engineer
• Heads of agencies responsible for metropolitan transport, electricity supply, and solid waste management

The Commissioner will be the Chief Executive Officer of the City Corporation. Mayors will preside over the City Corporation meetings. The members of each City Corporation will elect a mayor and a deputy mayor. 

City Corporation will consist of the following members: 

• Councillors elected from each ward 
• Lok Sabha MPs and MLAs of constituencies lying within the corporation area 
• Registered voters of Rajya Sabha MPs and MLCs in the corporation area 
• Nominated experts in municipal administration, town planning, health, or education (without voting rights). 

The Ward Committees will be chaired by Councillors.

Functions & Powers of Greater Bengaluru Governance

The Greater Bengaluru Authority will have the following powers: 

• Financial allocations 
• Approve tax rates 
• Oversee budgets for all corporations 
• Coordinate infrastructure projects 
• Integrate public agencies 
• Supervise urban planning, service delivery, and technology-driven solutions like GIS and intelligent transport systems

The following powers are vested with the City Corporations:

• All functions related to public streets 
• Making building bye-laws 
• Taking adequate measures related to public health 
• Assisting central and state governments in preventing or managing natural calamities 
• Coordinating with the respective departments for collecting, storing, processing and disposing of municipal solid waste 
• Impose penalties on polluters 
• Conservation and maintenance of urban heritage

The following are the functions of the Ward Committees: 

• Preparing and submitting ward development schemes and plans to the corporation 
• Ensure the collection of taxes 
• Ensure maintenance of civic services like water supply, sewerage, solid waste management and street lighting

Amendments & Status of Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has passed the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, which will be implemented from 15 March 2025. 

However, there were certain amendments made to the GBG Bill introduced in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and the GBG Bill as recommended by the Joint Select Committee. The Bill passed contains the amendments proposed by the Joint Select Committee. The amendments made to the GBG Bill introduced in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly are as follows:

• It was proposed that the Greater Bengaluru Area may have up to 10 city corporations, but it was amended to have 7 city corporations.
• There was no provision for the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC). It was amended, and the Bill was passed with the provision for the GBA to be the Planning Authority and the constitution of a Bengaluru MPC.
• Initially, the Bill contained provisions for Ares Sabhas of all registered voters in the area as members. However, it was amended, and the provision for Area Sabhas was removed in the final Bill.
• There was provision for the creation of a Greater Bengaluru Security Force for security of corporation property, and aiding officers of the corporation with tax evasion and leakages. But the final bill amended and removed the constitution of a Greater Bengaluru Security Force.

Challenges & Issues in Existing BBMP Structure

• The Chief Minister chairs the GBA and the Metropolitan Planning Committee, which may violate the principles of the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992.
• The GBG Bill gives administrative and executive powers to legislators at the local governance level.
• It creates an overlap of power between city corporations and existing public authorities.
• The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), headed by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, and comprising various ministers, may undermine the principles of decentralisation.
• The Bill provides that the Corporation must obtain prior sanction or approval from the government or the GBA before exercising several powers, such as disposing of property through sale, leasing property for more than five years, and entering into contracts that may hamper its decision-making power.
• The Bill provides power to the government to set the property tax rates in consultation with the GBA. But in many other states, such as Delhi, Kerala, and Maharashtra, property tax rates are determined by the respective Municipal Corporations.
• There is no provision for Area Sabhas, thus not facilitating enhanced community participation.
• Since the MPs and MLAs from constituencies or residing within the GBA will be the GBA members, the principle of separation of powers between the legislature and the executive may be violated.

Before vs After Structure of BBMP and GBA

Here are the differences between BBMP and GBA:

Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2025 PDF Download

You can download the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2025 PDF by clicking here.

The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill 2025 provides the core principles, institutions, and processes for effective urban governance in the Greater Bengaluru Area. It changes the current BBMP structure governing the city and establishes an apex body of the Greater Bengaluru Authority with up to seven city corporations.