Greater B’lore after 6 months

Greater B’lore after 6 months
Deccan Herald

The City will take another six months to grow to its proposed “Greater Bangalore” status, though the new status still lacks definition and much else.

The City will take another six months to grow to its proposed “Greater Bangalore” status, though the new status still lacks definition and much else.

Though the State Cabinet gave its approval to the merger of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike with seven CMCs, one TMC and 106 villages, the idea of of a “Greater Bangalore” is still “very dilute”, said officials on Thursday. The complete Greater Bangalore plan is expected to be in place by April 2007.

“All we have got is the government’s nod. Things will start rolling from now onwards. We have to look at a complete revamp of the current administrative system,” said K S Raykar, Deputy Secretary to Government.


The proposal for appointing a single administrator for taking care of the City administration till April is on the cards but has not yet been finalised, said Mr Raykar. The tenure of elected representatives in BMP will end on November 23, and that of CMCs in December.

According to Mr A Ravindra, Vice-Chairman of the Karnataka State Planning Board, “this is an opportunity to create a new legislation to oversee the functions of Greater Bangalore, that will overcome the flaws of the existing Karnataka Municipality Act”.

“Bangalore is undergoing haphazard, short-sighted development. Permits are being given for new construction with little attention given to the impact it will have in the surrounding infrastructure. According to the existing law, there is no control mechanism that will check on such constructions. The new Act should be futuristic in its content,” Mr Ravindra revealed.

“The Act should encourage holistic development of the City, and ensure proper planning and co-ordination among all civic agencies,” he said.

“However, the process is still at a nascent stage,” he added.