‘Don’t Act on Illegal Verbal Orders’: DK Shivakumar Tells Bengaluru Officials to Document Every Civic Work, Strengthen GBA Coordination
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has told senior Bengaluru officials not to act on verbal directions from ministers, legislators or other elected representatives if such instructions are contrary to law, while calling for stronger documentation, accountability and inter-agency coordination in the administration of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
Shivakumar made the remarks while addressing the second meeting of the Greater Bengaluru Authority on Thursday. It was the first GBA meeting chaired by him as Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister said officials should work strictly within the legal framework and should not allow themselves to become part of decisions that cannot be defended under law. He indicated that even if directions come from elected representatives, officials have an independent responsibility to ensure that the action they take is lawful.
He also stressed the need for a proper documentary trail for civic works. Referring to grants used for roads, drains and other public works, Shivakumar said there should be documentation for every work and video records should also be maintained.
The direction assumes significance in the new GBA structure, under which Bengaluru’s civic administration has been reorganised into five city corporations. Shivakumar said the transition required a clearer division of responsibilities and stronger coordination between the different agencies and authorities involved in the city’s administration.
Recalling his earlier experience handling Bengaluru-related responsibilities as Deputy Chief Minister, he said managing the city through a single commissioner had posed major practical difficulties. With the new multi-corporation structure now in place, he said the government would have to ensure that the system functions effectively and that responsibilities are clearly distributed.
He also indicated that some of the city corporations may require financial support from the State Government, underlining that the administrative reorganisation would have to be backed by an appropriate financial framework.
Shivakumar referred to the issue of elections to urban local bodies and the legal obligations governing the process. He said elections had to be conducted in accordance with constitutional and judicial requirements, and stressed that elected representatives and officials would have to discharge their respective responsibilities within that framework.
The Chief Minister also called for closer integration of the agencies that shape Bengaluru’s growth, infrastructure and mobility. In his address, he referred to the need to involve senior officials dealing with policing, finance, urban development and Metro-related matters in the GBA’s coordination framework so that city-level decisions are not taken in isolation by individual agencies.
He said Bengaluru’s development could not be managed effectively if planning, road works, transport, civic administration and other infrastructure functions continued to operate without sufficient coordination.
Shivakumar also referred to the broader need to simplify civic approvals and service delivery for Bengaluru residents. His remarks touched upon property documentation and digital processes, with an emphasis on making systems easier for citizens to access and reducing the need for repeated visits to government offices.
He said technology should be used to improve efficiency and speed up public services, while officials should continue to rectify procedural problems faced by citizens. The Chief Minister also indicated that both online and offline mechanisms may be required in certain services so that residents are not excluded merely because they face difficulties with a fully digital process.
The Chief Minister further spoke about the need to speed up statutory and civic approvals in accordance with law. He referred to approvals connected with building occupation and other urban services and said the administration should reduce avoidable delays while complying with legal requirements and court directions.
On Bengaluru’s physical infrastructure, Shivakumar said better coordination was necessary in the planning and maintenance of roads and associated public assets. He also referred to the need for a more systematic approach to underground cables and other utility infrastructure so that repeated interventions do not undermine roads and public spaces.
The Chief Minister called for better maintenance of parks and public assets and suggested that the administration should explore practical mechanisms to improve upkeep where appropriate, while keeping public interest at the centre of such arrangements.
He also told officials that mistakes in administration should be corrected rather than allowed to continue. The focus, he said, should be on identifying problems quickly, rectifying them and finding workable solutions instead of allowing procedural delays to hold up decisions indefinitely.
At the same time, Shivakumar said emergency situations may require faster administrative decisions, with the necessary approvals or ratification following through the prescribed process. He stressed, however, that this should not become a route for bypassing the law.
The Chief Minister also said the government’s future approach to Bengaluru would involve continued engagement with city ministers, elected representatives and officials on specific subjects, with an emphasis on problem-solving and implementation.
He referred to welfare programmes and civic service delivery as areas where the newly constituted city corporations would have to take an active role, and indicated that applications and implementation mechanisms for welfare schemes would be taken forward through the corporations.
The meeting comes as the GBA begins functioning as the overarching structure for Bengaluru’s reorganised civic administration, with five city corporations and multiple urban agencies expected to work within a more coordinated governance framework.
Greater Bengaluru Development Minister and GBA Vice-Chairperson Krishna Byre Gowda attended the meeting along with Ministers K.J. George and B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan; Rajya Sabha members Mansoor Ali Khan and Lahar Singh Siroya; BDA Chairman and MLA N.A. Haris; MLAs Dinesh Gundu Rao, Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan, K. Gopalaiah, S.T. Somashekar, S. Muniraju and A.C. Srinivas; and MLCs M. Nagaraj, Sudham Das, T.N. Javarayi Gowda, Vinay Karthik Prakash and B.S. Shivanna.
Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Giri Nath, Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, city corporation commissioners, GBA ex-officio members and other senior officials were also present.
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