A coalition of citizens and civic groups under the banner of Bengaluru Townhall has strongly objected to the recently approved Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill. The collective has formally petitioned Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, requesting him to deny assent due to provisions they believe are unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Opposition from civil society groups is widespread, with critics arguing that the bill dilutes local self-governance, contradicting the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. Instead of strengthening urban local bodies, the legislation grants greater authority to the state government over the Greater Bengaluru Area.
On January 10, the Alliance for Sustainable Urban Priorities (ASUP)—a consortium of activists and urban experts—expressed similar concerns in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. This letter was supported by a research report from Ashish Verma of the Indian Institute of Science and co-signed by several prominent civic leaders, including Dattatreya Devare (Bangalore Environment Trust), Kathyayini Chamaraj (CIVIC), Rajkumar Dugar (Citizens for Citizens), Sandeep Anirudhan (Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru), Satyajit Arikutharam (urban mobility expert), and Vinod Jacob (Namma Bengaluru Foundation).
Despite the mounting opposition, the government has yet to address their concerns or issue a response.
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