Karnataka govt appoints BBMP administrator

The Karnataka government on Thursday appointed senior IAS officer Gaurav Gupta as the administrator of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), as the term of the elected council expired. Gupta, who is serving as the Principal Secretary in the Commerce and Industries department has been placed in the concurrent charge as the administrator of the civic body.

According to BBMP sources, the government has bought time to increase the number of wards from existing 198 to 225 and initiate the process of delimitation of wards. In the cabinet meeting on September 3, the group of ministers had deliberated on increasing the number of wards at a ratio of one ward for a population of 40,000 to 42,000 people.

However, the decision to appoint the administrator in the BBMP and start the process of increasing the wards has caused an unrest among the sitting corporators. "The decision to appoint an administrator is a clear sign that the government does not want to hold the election.

Avoiding BBMP polls is not only against the Constitution but also against the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act," a corporator told PTI.

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