M. Maheshwar Rao
| Photo Credit: File photo
Looking back at one year of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and the five city corporations, Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao said decision-making has gained pace and interaction with the public has improved, but there is scope for improving revenue generation.Mr. Rao said that with the increase in the number of decision-makers at the corporation level, more local, micro-level and long-pending issues are being resolved faster. “Especially works for which budgets can be approved and allocated at the corporation level are being executed quickly. In addition, interaction with citizens has increased, improving the execution of local works,” Mr. Rao said.However, he admitted that some infrastructure works and revenue generation have been slow, citing two specific reasons: the West Asia crisis, which led to a shortage of bitumen, and various surveys, including the SIR, socio-economic survey and census. “Although the government provided funds and sanctioned works, some could not be implemented due to these reasons,” he said.He added that revenue collection also could not be improved to the extent that the corporations had initially anticipated and provided for in the budget. “We were anticipating tax revision, premium floor area ratio (FAR) charges, and other avenues, but couldn’t achieve it. In the coming days, we can do this, and more work can be taken up with those funds,” he said.He also said that coordination and efficiency have improved. Further, the GBA has finalised a place for setting up new corporation offices, while for two corporations, the search for a place is ongoing.Mr. Rao said that T.M. Vijay Bhaskar, former chief secretary, has submitted a report on cadre and recruitment rules for GBA, and it has been sent to the government for approval. One more report is yet to be submitted, after which action will be taken, he said. Published - September 02, 2026 07:32 pm IST
