BENGALURU: A month after announcing the BBMP would be trifurcated, the Cabinet has put the idea on hold.
Ramalinga Reddy, Minister Incharge of Bengaluru, told Express the government’s priority was to conduct municipal elections. “The High Court has directed us to conduct elections on or before May 30, and we have no time to divide the BBMP,” he said.
Elections will be held to 198 wards, as before. “We will rotate the reservation for women, SC and ST and other categories,” he said. The mayor’s term will continue to be one year.
“It is not that we don’t want to divide the city. With so little time, we can’t amend the law to do it,” he said.
The reservation procedure is being handled by the Urban Development Department. “It will be announced on Saturday,” he said. “We will then give at least a week’s time, calling for objections from the public.”
In September 2014, the state government had constituted a three-member committee headed by former chief secretary B S Patil to examine the division of the civic agency. Renamed the BBMP Restructuring Committee, it was to submit its report in December, but it sought six months more, recommending a division in its interim report. The committee also held many public consultations.