More wards, same workforce: GBA, corporations struggle to deliver on the ground

Even as the five new corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) are close to completing a year since they were formed, old problems on the ground continue to haunt citizens, while they now seek a way out of new problems.

The State government replaced the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020, with the new Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, in 2025, which dissolved the BBMP and formed five corporations in its place, with a pan-city body called the GBA, which came into force on September 2, 2025.

The restructuring was envisaged to address micro-level issues through decentralisation of the administration. While the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was split into five corporations, what mattered on the ground was that the number of wards in the city almost doubled from 198 to 369, which it was hoped would take the administration closer to citizens.

But this has made little difference on the ground. Even a year later, the city corporations are still mostly working with a workforce deployed for the old 198-ward setup and not upgraded to the 369 wards yet. Moreover, the vacancy rate is around 40%. This essentially means, the intended benefits of the new governance structure is yet to reach citizens.

R. Rajagopalan, convenor of Bengaluru Coalition, puts it this way: the GBA is like a novel concept on paper without an execution plan.

With the change in wards from 198 to 369, citizens struggle to find the engineers in charge of their wards, which forces them to visit corporation offices even for minor inconveniences.

Sneha Nandihal, co-founder, I Change Indiranagar, said there is still confusion about how the new system works. “All our engineers have dual charges, and when we question them about anything, they very conveniently say that they are just in-charge of specific work and get away. The accountability is missing,” she stressed.

Pranith B., a resident of Koramangala, pointed out that in the past, engineers would often visit their wards and ward committee meetings used to take place. “Now, once the complaint is raised, as they don’t visit often, follow-up becomes very hard, and repeated calls won’t yield a response. While many could get their issues resolved by visiting corporation offices, for the working class and labour class, accessing basic amenities has become hard,” he said.

V. Ramprasad, a solid waste management expert, pointed out that addressing the garbage issue needs micro-level planning, which requires a ward-wise blueprint. “At present, such planning has taken a hit with the dearth of engineers. Right from collecting waste to monitoring blackspots, we need sustained efforts, but staff shortage doesn’t allow such focus,” he said.

The commissioners, who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted that the shortage forces them to curtail their ambitious plans and stick to managing everyday crises rather than experimenting with new solutions to existing problems.

“At their disposal, each officer is executing tasks meant for two or three officers. There has been no compromise in managing everyday issues, but existing staff is overwhelmed and there is less scope for collaborative experimentation,” a commissioner said.