Bengaluru's new governance model to raise staff count to 23,689, cost ₹137 crore extra each year: Report

The new governance structure in Bengaluru will increase staff to 23,689, with a focus on sanitation and new roles in finance, planning, IT, law, and health.

Bengaluru is getting ready for a major change in how the city is run. From September 2, the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) will no longer exist. In its place, the state government is setting up a new system: the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and five smaller municipal corporations.

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has officially replaced the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) as the city’s primary civic body. (Representational Image) (AI-generated image created using Chat GPT)

This big governance shake-up also means more staff - over 1,200 new civic workers - costing the government an extra ₹137 crore every year.

Currently, BBMP has around 18,790 employees, though it’s supposed to have 22,411. With the new structure, the sanctioned strength will rise to 23,689, so the government will need to hire nearly 4,900 people, the Deccan Herald reported.

Most of these new jobs will still go to sanitation workers - around 16,800 of them - but fresh recruitment is also planned in areas like finance, planning, IT, law and health, the report stated.

Each of the five new corporations will have between 2,000 to 4,300 staff, and the new GBA alone will have 314 employees. Another body, B-SMILE, will handle major city projects and have 107 staff, the report added.

However, the final number of wards isn’t clear yet. The government is considering between 300 and 500, but nothing is confirmed. A delimitation commission will decide that later.

While the new system promises better management, some citizen groups are not convinced. They say simply adding staff won’t solve the city's real problems - and warn that without transparency, accountability and skilled leadership, Bengaluru may face the same issues all over again.