Multiple Departments, Same Workforce: GBA, Corporations Struggle With Their Bottom Line

Even as the five new corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) are about to complete a year since their establishment, the old problems at the site continue to haunt the citizens as they now look for a way out of the new problems.

The state government replaced the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020 with the new Greater Bengaluru Administration Act, 2024, which dissolved the BBMP in 2025 and created five corporations, with a city-wide body called the GBA, which came into effect on 2 September 2025.

Restructuring was intended to address micro-level problems through decentralization of administration. While the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was bifurcated into five corporations, on the ground, the number of wards in the city almost doubled from 198 to 369, which it hoped would bring the administration closer to the citizens.

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

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

A view of the Greater Bengaluru Authority building in Bengaluru on Monday, January 19, 2026. Photo: Sudhakara Jain/The Hindu | Photo credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

With the change in departments from 198 to 369, citizens struggle to find engineers in charge of their departments, forcing them to visit corporate offices even for minor inconveniences.

Sneha Nandihal, co-founder of I Change Indiranagar, said there is still confusion about how the new system works. “All our engineers have dual charges, and when we ask them anything, they very conveniently say that they are only in charge of a specific job and run away. There is a lack of accountability,” she emphasized.

Pranith B., a resident of Koramangala, pointed out that in the past engineers often visited their wards and ward committee meetings were held. “Now, once a complaint is raised because they don’t visit often, follow-up is very difficult and repeated calls will not yield a response. While many could solve their problems by visiting corporate offices, it is difficult for the working class and working class to access basic amenities,” he said.

V. Ramprasad, an expert on solid waste management, pointed out that solving the garbage problem requires micro-level planning, which requires a department-wise plan. “Currently, such planning has been met with a shortage of engineers. Starting from garbage collection to black spot monitoring, we need a sustained effort, but staff shortages do not allow for such a focus,” he said.

No room for experimentation

The commissioners, who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted that the shortage is forcing them to scale back their ambitious plans and stick to managing day-to-day crises rather than experimenting with new solutions to existing problems.

“Each officer at his disposal is carrying out tasks meant for two or three officers. No compromise has been made in dealing with day-to-day matters, but existing staff are overburdened and there is less room for joint experimentation,” the commissioner said.

For example, one official pointed to the reduction in congestion at the Kaggadasapura level crossing in East Bengaluru under the new transport model proposed by the East City Corporation and said, “Such micro-level problems were planned to be solved through restructuring. But in fact, there are only a few such examples in the last one year to show because the required strength is not available.”

Delaying the new rules

The state government is working on special cadre and recruitment (C&R) rules for the GBA, but is yet to announce them a year after the creation of the authority. Once the new C&R rules are adopted, the government is expected to directly recruit more people for GBA.

GBA Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao told The Hindu that the new C&R rules were framed by a committee headed by former chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar and sent to the government for approval. “Initially the requirements were assessed at the ground level and sent to the government, but we were asked to revise. Then a committee was constituted and it submitted a report recently,” said Mr. Rao.

(This is the first in a series of reports assessing the governance restructuring in Bengaluru with GBA and five companies, one year after the reform)

Published – 30 Aug 2026 21:47 IST