BBMP’s ward delimitation method draws flak

Sanjay R. Murty / NT
Bengaluru

While the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is close to finishing its ward delimitation exercise, it is now facing criticism from some quarters. The BBMP has based its delimitation on data from the 2011 Census.

However, critics say that the civic body could have utilized data from the electoral roll of the Election Commission released in 2021. The delimitation of 243 wards based on the census data results in unbalanced distribution of population across the ward, according to the Bengaluru Navanirmana Party (BNP) members.

However, BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Administration) clarified that the civic body is supposed to carry out delimitations based on the Census data only. “According to the Delimitation Act, the recent Census data must be considered and not the electoral roll,” he said.

However, Lalithamba B.V. of the BNP opined that delimitation based on decade-old data defeats the very purpose of having new wards. “The population of the city has seen tremendous growth in the last decade, especially in the outer zones. Considering the latest electoral roll would be apt if BBMP wants uniform distribution of population across wards,” she said.

The population rise in the central areas of the city is less when compared with outer zones of BBMP. This is mainly because the outer areas have seen rapid urbanization in the last ten years.
Rishvanjas Raghavan, the President of NavaYuva – BNP’s Youth Wing, gave the example of Govindarajanagar and Padmanabhanagar Assembly Constituencies and said that they are each about to get one ward in excess, while Vijayanagar gets a ward less than the ideal number of wards.

“We will examine the relevant clauses to see if the condition is binding on the BBMP. We will not object if it is found to be the only constitutional way to carry out the delimitation,” he said and added that delimitation based on the latest voter data was more sensible. He also noted that the MLA of Padmanabhanagar is the current Revenue Minister.

BNP members said that the party’s leadership is looking forward to the release of the delimitation draft, after which they would be able to raise objections before it is finalised.