A time limit has been set for the proposed nominee to continue as an additional member of that municipal corporation.
BENGALURU
The opinion expressed that the government has moved to appoint more than 700 nominated members to 5 Municipal Corporations in the Greater Bengaluru area in contravention of the Constitution by the amendment proposed to Section 30 of the Greater Bengaluru Administration (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and that this process has raised doubts that elections to the said Municipal Corporations will not be held for the time being is baseless. This appears to be with a malicious intention to create a wrong impression among the public without understanding the purpose of the amendment.
The Greater Bengaluru Administration Act, 2024 provides for the modification of the boundaries of the Greater Bangalore area from time to time and local authorities may be included in the Greater Bengaluru area by taking steps as per the rules. Until the area so included is re-divided and elections are held, the said new area will not have any representative of the people. There is a possibility that the administration and development of the said area will be hampered as there will be no one to represent the said area in the municipal corporation of that area.
In this context, an amendment has been proposed to Section 30, providing for the nomination of at least one person per 20,000 population of a local resident of the local area to be included in the Greater Bengaluru area as an additional member of that particular municipal corporation. Since such a nominated person is not an elected representative, he shall not have the right to vote in that Municipal Corporation and only the person who conducts the election for that local area shall be allowed to continue as a nominated member.
In the event of merger of any part of a Panchayat area into a smaller urban area, provision has also been made in Section 360 (d) of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 for the Government to nominate a person who is ordinarily resident of such area as an additional councillor for the reconstituted Municipal Council.
It has been stated that it is not appropriate to provide wrong information to the public at a time when the government is taking all necessary steps for the general elections of the five urban corporations of the Greater Bengaluru region.
