The Greater Bengaluru Authority has started collecting a ₹200 annual software charge from residential property owners in Bengaluru, while commercial properties are being charged ₹1,000, prompting criticism over the levy’s purpose, legal basis and utilisation.
The charge is being collected by the five city corporations under the GBA along with annual property tax payments. Officials told The Hindu that the amount was intended for the “maintenance” of digital services and software used by the civic administration. However, the authority has not issued an official public announcement explaining the levy.
The additional charge has raised questions among property owners who already pay property tax and garbage cess. Citizens have questioned why software and digital services should be funded through a separate annual payment when those systems are already being used by civic bodies as part of their administrative operations.
“If this is being added as a separate charge, citizens deserve a clear explanation of what it covers, the legal basis for it and where that money goes. We take pride in calling Bengaluru an IT city, but why should we pay ₹200 for the GBA to run its IT services?” said Veda Murthy, a property owner in Kodigehalli.
The criticism has also been linked to broader dissatisfaction with the quality of basic civic services. Residents cited concerns involving roads, streetlights, garbage collection, garbage tax and the city’s helpline system while questioning whether the new levy was justified without a corresponding public explanation.
“From roads to streetlights, garbage collection, garbage tax and the helpline system, nothing has improved. But citizens are just being looted every day in the name of some or the other tax,” said Nataraj B.
Several citizens have opposed the charge on social media and demanded transparency on its purpose and utilisation. Their objections have focused on whether the GBA has disclosed the service costs covered by the levy, the authority under which it is being collected and the mechanism through which the money will be accounted for.
The issue has also drawn criticism from political parties. Srikanth Narasimhan, founder and general secretary of the Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party, said the absence of elected local representatives in Bengaluru had weakened public scrutiny of decisions that impose additional financial burdens on residents. He called on the GBA to disclose its accounts, justify the charge and remain accountable to citizens.
BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra also criticised the levy, describing it as the latest “innovation” of the Congress government’s governance in Karnataka. He questioned what citizens were paying for and sought clarity on the legal basis, cost breakup and public accountability associated with the charge.
The immediate dispute places the GBA’s digital administration systems within a larger question of municipal finance: whether residents can be asked to pay separately for administrative technology without a transparent notification, itemised cost explanation or public disclosure of how the revenue will be used. The authority’s next step is to clarify the basis and utilisation of the software charge.
