No office space for Bengaluru bifurcation panel

Bengaluru: Members of a committee for the bifurcation of Bengaluru, headed  by former chief secretary B. S. Patil, have met thrice in the last month to study  the pros and cons of dividing the city, for better governance and administration.

However, the committee still hasn’t got an office to do its job of studying the division of Bengaluru. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, V. Ravichandar, one of the three members of the committee, said that they have been brainstorming over the division of Bengaluru during the preliminary meetings.

The committee members have also met the Chief Secretary who has extended all kind of support from the government, he added.

“The starting point is to look at what has happened in the past.

The committee is also planning to consult various government departments, mostly those which would get impacted by the division of the city mainly Parastatal agencies like BWSSB, Bengaluru Development Authority, the police department, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and others on how the splitting of Bengaluru will affect their functioning,” said Mr. Ravichandar.

The committee is building a list of previous reports and findings on the splitting of Bengaluru. In this context  the  Kasturirangan Report on governance of Greater Bengaluru will be vital. Even the report prepared by former chief secretary A. Ravindra will be studied.

Replying to a query on whether Bengaluru will be bifurcated or trifurcated, Mr. Ravichandar said that it was too early to say anything about that and the committee has no pre-conceived notions on bifurcating the city. It is being viewed from the prism of better administration and governance.