Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
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Bangalore Mahanagara Palike |
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| Emblem of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike | |
| Name | Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) |
| Government Type | Municipal Corporation |
| City | Bangalore, India |
| Commissioner | Jayraj |
| Additional Commissioner | Gaurav Gupta |
| http://www.bmponline.org | |
The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮಹಾನಗರ ಪಾಲಿಕೆ) (or BMP), is responsibile for the civic and infrastructural assets of the city of Bangalore, India. Bangalore Mahanagara Palike was formerly known as Bangalore City Corporation (BCC).
The BMP represents the third level of government, (the Central government and State Government being the first two levels). Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is run by a city council. The city council comprises 100 elected representatives, called "corporators", one from each of the 100 wards (localities) of the city. Elections to the council are held once every 5 years, with results being decided by popular vote. Members contesting elections to council represent one of more of the state's political parties.
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[edit] Structure
A mayor and deputy mayor of the council are also elected for a period of 1 year, though not by popular vote. The post of the mayor and deputy mayor are filled through a quota system to a Scheduled Castes and Tribes candidate or to an Other Backward Class female candidate [1]. The current mayor and commissioner are Mumtaz Begum and K. Jairaj an IAS of the 1976 batch. The Bangalore Mananagara Palike is responsible for civic and infrastructural requirements of the city. The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike often works in conjunction with other civic bodies such as the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) to design and implement civic and infrastructural projects. The BMP was formerly known as Bangalore City Corporation (BCC).
[edit] History
The history of municipal governance of Bangalore dates back to March 27, 1862, when nine leading citizens of the city formed a Municipal Board under the Improvement of Towns Act of 1850. Later, a similar Municipal Board was also formed in the Cantonment area of the city. The two boards were legalized in 1881, and functioned as two independent bodies called the Bangalore City Municipality and the Bangalore Civil and Military Station Municipality. The following year, the concept of elected representatives come into being and also saw the introduction of property tax.
After Indian independence, the two Municipal Boards were merged to form the Corporation of the City of Bangalore in 1949, under the Bangalore City Corporation Act. The corporation then consisted of 70 elected representatives and 50 electoral divisions. The name of the council has since changed twice — first to Bangalore City Corporation (BCC), and now to Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.
[edit] Roles and Responsibilities
The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is the fourth largest Municipal Corporation in India, after the city corporations that administer Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. The BMP is responsibile for infrastructural assets of the Greater Bangalore Metropolitan area, spread across 224.66 kms2, with a population of 6.8 million.
Its roles and responsibilities include the "orderly development of the city" — zoning and building regulations, health, hygiene, licensing, trade and education, as well as quality of life issues such as lung spaces, water bodies, parks and greenery.
[edit] Criticism
BMP came under criticism in 2005 from Information Technology companies for failing to effectively address the crumbling road and traffic infrastructure of the city. It must be noted, however, that these IT companies do not pay property taxes, depriving the BMP of much needed revenue for all the improvements and maintenance that is needed for road and traffic infrastructure. In July 2005, the Karnataka High Court castigated the BMP for failing to maintain roads in good condition.
