The state Cabinet on Tuesday reintroduced direct election of presidents of municipal councils from among the people and multi-member wards, accepting the recommendation of a sub-committee headed by CM
The state Cabinet on Tuesday reintroduced direct election of presidents of municipal councils from among the people and multi-member wards, accepting the recommendation of a sub-committee headed by CM Devendra Fadnavis. A gazette on this will be issued in a few days. The decision was taken, keeping in mind election of presidents of 195 municipal councils next November.
Minister for finance and planning, Sudhir Mungantiwar, a member of the sub-committee, clarified that the decision pertained to municipal councils, direct elections of presidents of municipal councils, and multi-member civic wards. Henceforth, voters would directly elect council presidents and every ward would have two councillors each, he said.
An urban development department official said that when the same system was introduced in 2001 during late Vilasrao Deshmukh’s tenure as CM, the condition was that a no-confidence motion against the president would not be allowed for the first three years. This time around, other recommendations of the sub-committee are yet to be revealed. Secretary to the urban development department, Manisha Mhaiskar, confirmed the decision but was unable to comment on other recommendations accepted by the Cabinet. “The issue was not on the agenda of the Cabinet and only the decision to accept the report was taken and hence, we are unable to disclose it,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ram Patkar, the first directly elected president of Kulgaon-Badlapur municipal council in 2001 told newspersons that he welcomed the decision. He insisted that council presidents be given administrative and financial powers to implement welfare and infrastructure projects. Mr Patkar favoured at least 50 per cent budget allocation to council presidents who could utilise the same to execute projects. However, he discounted the possibility of presidents being elected from rival opposition parties who in turn could block development proposals in the civic body mooted by the rival political party in majority. He added that the system of directly elected presidents in municipal councils would enable popular candidates to get elected.
Meanwhile, the decision will necessitate amendment to section 51 of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965, which earlier provided for elected councillors to elect presidents from among themselves.
Two hundred and twenty three municipal councils in the state are classified into categories A, B and C depending upon their population. ‘A’ class councils with a population between 8,000 and one lakh have minimum 38 and maximum 65 councillors. ‘B’ class councils with population between 5,000 and 40,000 have minimum 23 and maximum 37 councillors. Whereas ‘C’ class councils with population between 3,000 and 25,000 have minimum 17 and maximum 23 councilors.
The political implications of the decision can be gauged from the fact that a majority of existing municipal councils are ruled by the opposition Congress and NCP. The BJP and Shiv Sena are in power in very few councils and are in a minority in councils ruled by Congress and NCP. But this is not the first time that such a decision has been taken.
