The court ruled that upon the establishment of an Urban Development Authority, the Improvement Board becomes non-functional, and the Urban Development Authority is the sole governing body for urban development.

CAV ORDER

1. The petitioner is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) elected from the Local Body Constituency in the year 2020. He has filed this petition challenging the communication dated 10.09.2024 which has been addressed by respondent No.4 to respondent No.3 by which the earlier opinion of the Department of Parliamentary Affairs was withdrawn and the opinion dated 10.09.2024 was ordered to be implemented.

2. This communication essentially states that the petitioner by virtue of being an MLC cannot participate in the proceedings of the Bagalkot Town Development Authority (BTDA) and can only participate in the proceedings of the Bagalkot Urban Development Authority (BUDA). In short, the petitioner contends that by virtue of being an MLC representing the Local Body Constituency, he is not entitled to be a part of the BTDA, but can only be a member of the BUDA, which had been constituted under Act No.13 of 1985.

3. In order to appreciate the contentions urged by the petitioner, an analysis of the provisions of the four statutes would be necessary.

4. For the sake of convenience, these statutes are segregated in relation to time during which they are enacted.

1976:

5. The Karnataka Improvement Boards Act , 1976 (“KIB Act”) was enacted on 08.03.1976 with the object of providing for establishment of Improvement Boards for the development of urban areas in the State of Karnataka. This Act provided for constitution of Improvement Boards, by issuance of a notification of the Government and the Boards so constituted was required to draw up a detailed scheme for the development or improvement of urban areas.

1985:

6. The Karnataka Improvement Boards Act was amended by Amending Act No.13 of 1985, whereby Chapter – IIA was inserted. This amendment was specific to the town of Bagalkot, which is clear from the Statement of Objects and Reasons to the amending act, which reads as follows:

“Amending Act 13 of 1985:- Bagalkot town will get submerged with the construction of the Almatti Dam up to a crest level of 1680 feet in the 1^st stage of the Upper Krishana Project. The Almatti Dam is expected to reach the crest level of 1680 feet by June, 1987. Hence Government has decided to shift the affected portion of Bagalkot town to a higher location and to construct a new township. It is proposed to constitute a statutory body with statutory powers called the Bagalkot town Development Authority. The Authority shall take expeditious steps to shift that portion of Bagalkot town which is going to be submerged and for this purpose an Action Plan Committee shall be constituted. There shall also be a high level review committee with the Chief Minister as Chairman. The Authority shall execute the work approved by the Action Plan Committee and shall comply with the directions issued from time to time by the Action Plan Committee and the High Level Review Committee. The chief engineer of the Bagalkot Town Development Authority shall be the Chief Executive and Administrative Officer of the Authority.

Hence this bill.

(Published in the Karnataka Gazette (Extraordinary) Part IV-2A dated 20-3-1985 as No.151 at page 10.)”

7. As could be seen from the above, the Legislature was of the view that the constitution of an Improvement Board for the town of Bagalkot would be inadequate and therefore, a separate statutory body which was to be conferred with statutory powers was required to be constituted. This was obviously because the Bagalkot was to be submerged with the construction of Almatti Dam and the portion of the town, which was affected, was required to be shifted to a higher location and a new township was also to be constructed, which by it’s very nature was a special requirement as compared to the normal development of towns in the State, which was to be achieved through the Improvement boards.

8. Chapter-IIA of the KIB Act was exclusively devoted to Bagalkot Town Development Authority.

9. Section 12A of KIB Act provided for constitution and incorporation of