Bengaluru: A strong pitch for decentralised development funding dominated the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) pre-budget meeting Friday, with city MLAs cutting across party lines demanding a grant of Rs 5 crore per ward to address pressing civic issues. During a pre-budget meeting chaired by deputy chief minister and Bengaluru in-charge minister DK Shivakumar, legislators collectively pushed for focused investments in local infrastructure. According to GBA officials, MLAs were invited to present constituency-level requirements.Among the proposals, the demand for fixed ward-wise allocation stood out, reflecting concerns over deteriorating roads, encroached footpaths, and inadequate civic amenities. Jayanagar MLA CK Ramamurthy said all MLAs have jointly sought Rs 5 crore per ward, over and above the existing state and corporation funds. “These dedicated funds are essential for internal development. We want to prioritise clean and accessible footpaths, motorable ward roads, and improved civic infrastructure,” he said, stressing the need for targeted grassroots spending.Responding to the MLAs’ demand later, Shivakumar said, “MLAs have also submitted their requests and have urged that grants be provided by ward. Let us see how much can be allocated.”Rs 20k-crore budget?The demand comes at a time when Bengaluru’s civic administration is undergoing major restructuring. Following the division of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into five separate city corporations under GBA, each entity is set to present its own budget for 2026-27. Sources in GBA indicated that the combined outlay for all five corporations is expected to be around Rs 20,000 crore. Each corporation is likely to have a budget ranging between Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore, marking a significant scale of spending in the first financial year after the restructuring. For FY 2025–26, the erstwhile BBMP had an outlay of over Rs 19,000 crore. However, after the GBA came into existence in Aug 2025, funds and revenues were distributed among the five corporations, which are now set to present independent budgets.Maheshwar Rao, chief commissioner of GBA, told TOI that unlike the previous year, each corporation will now have its own full-fledged budget. “In 2025-26, the overall budget was shared with all the corporations by allocating funds for various works between Sept 2025 and March 2026,” he said. Officials added that while the exact date of budget presentation has not been formally announced, it is likely to be tabled within the coming week, before the end of March. “This timeline is being considered to ensure sufficient time for approvals before the start of the new financial year,” an official said.Focus on local infra The pre-budget meeting also highlighted broader civic priorities, including improving road conditions, strengthening pedestrian infrastructure, and ensuring better utilisation of funds at the ward level. MLAs pointed out that in the absence of dedicated allocations, smaller but critical works often face delays due to bureaucratic and funding bottlenecks. The push for ward-level grants is being seen as an effort to empower local representatives to directly address constituency issues, particularly in rapidly expanding urban pockets.
