New GBA board installed replacing the old BBMP board, at the head office, after the formation of Greater Bengaluru Authority, in Bengaluru on September 02, 2025.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
The Karnataka Government on Tuesday (September 2, 2025) set up a four-member Delimitation Committee, headed by Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao, to draw ward boundaries for the newly formed five corporations. The government also issued detailed guidelines for the demarcation process.
The committee includes Jagadeesha G., Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban District, and Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner (Administration, Revenue, and IT)., and the senior-most officer among the commissioners of the five corporations.
According to the government’s schedule, the committee must submit a draft of the ward maps by September 23. A draft notification will be issued on September 26, after which public suggestions and objections will be accepted until October 10. The final draft, incorporating these objections, will be submitted on October 17, and the government will issue the final notification on November 1.
Rules for delimitation
The committee must use the 2011 Census population as the base, updated with 2023 projections.
Each ward will represent about 20,000 residents, with a permissible variation of plus or minus 25% to ensure balanced representation.
A ward must not fall under two different Vidhana Sabha constituencies.
Ward boundaries must maintain population balance, community interests, and geographic contiguity.
Wards should be contiguous.
In areas with hills or forests, the committee must consider geography, commuting feasibility, and public convenience.
Natural boundaries such as roads and drains should be used for demarcation, while keeping existing administrative and community units intact wherever possible.
The government has set clear guidelines for marking the wards. Each corporation can have a maximum of 150 wards, and the committee must strive to maintain population balance across them. It has also directed that no ward should straddle two corporations or two different Assembly constituencies.
Based on the 2011 Census, Bengaluru’s population stood at 85 lakh. By 2023, it is estimated to have risen to 144 lakh. The government has also projected increases within each corporation: the east grew from 9 lakh in 2011 to 13 lakh in 2023; the west from 26 lakh to 45 lakh; the central area from 15 lakh to 25 lakh; the north from 18 lakh to 31 lakh; and the south from 17 lakh to 30 lakh. The government further noted a sharp rise in population density per sq. km.
Delimitation tentative timeline
Highlights
- September 23: Committee to submit delimitation draft
- September 26: Draft publication
- Till October 10: Public feedback and objections
- October 17: Committee to submit revised draft
- By November 1: Publication of final ward list
- By November 30: Completing reservation process
2011 census population as base
The Delimitation Committee will redraw ward boundaries using the 2011 Census population as the base, updated with 2023 projections. Each ward will represent about 20,000 residents, with a permissible variation of plus or minus 25% to ensure balanced representation.
Other mandatory rules for ward creation include: Ward boundaries must maintain population balance, community interests, and geographic contiguity; wards should be contiguous; in areas with hills or forests, the committee must consider geography, commuting feasibility, and public convenience; natural boundaries such as roads and drains should be used for demarcation, while keeping existing administrative and community units intact wherever possible.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that each corporation will have the potential to produce at least 100 leaders, with equal representation for men and women. He added that the leadership structure will also ensure adequate representation for members of the backward classes.
Published – September 02, 2025 10:32 pm IST
