More wards, same workforce: GBA, corporations struggle to deliver on the ground
The restructuring of Bengaluru's municipal governance into five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority has faced significant implementation challenges. Despite doubling the number of wards, the administration suffers from severe staffing shortages and a lack of clear operational procedures.
Why it matters
Administrative inefficiencies in major urban centers directly impact the quality of public services and citizen engagement with local government.
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.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in