Electronics City Industrial Township Authority, Karnataka’s first and only such hub, completed three years recently after being conferred the status of “authority” in 2013.

The stage is now set for the first ever polls to elect members to the ECITA council as the first batch of members soon after the constitution of the authority were nominated by the state government.

The authority, which has 10 industrialists and invitees as its Council members, has municipal powers like collection of property tax, maintenance of the region, regulation and construction of buildings, issue of kathas, traffic management among others.

As mandated by the 74th amendment to the Constitution, once given township authority status, Electronics City was excluded from the jurisdiction of local bodies and planning panels.

Sources in the Urban Development department said election to the ECITA council is due and announcement on the modalities of conducting the polls would be made soon.

Representatives of industrial houses on the rolls of ECITA can contest the elections, which will be held on the lines of cooperative societies, the sources said.

ECITA jurisdiction is spread over an area of 903 acres and 11 guntas comprising Electronics City Phases I, II and III.

It has 158 registered companies including Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Hewlett Packard among others.

5 more authorities planned
The government has also proposed to provide “industrial township authority” status to five more industrial areas in different parts of the state.

These include Peenya Industrial Area, Bommasandra Industrial Area (both in Bengaluru). The other three on the cards include industrial areas in Mysuru (covering Metagalli, Hootagalli, Hebbal and Belawadi), Hubballi and Belagavi.

Meanwhile, urban experts have pointed out that notifying Peenya Industrial Area (PIA) as an authority,would mean that 40 sq-km would come out of the BBMP jurisdiction.

The city may lose four to five wards to the township authority, which may lead to political opposition.

Largest industrial zone
Incidently, PIA is Asia’s largest industrial zone. There is a provision to accommodate the elected representatives, whose wards would cease to exist, as members of the authority.

At the same time, the government is contemplating whether a separate framework should be drafted for functioning of industrial townships.