Mayors call for autonomy for better implementation

JNNURM had a role for WSP-SA in doing the Lucknow CDP according to the Mayors after nearly two years there are now progress on projects. - Vinay Baindur
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Mayors call for autonomy for better implementation

Express News Service

Lucknow, August 24: Demanding more autonomy for the civic bodies and implementation of the 74th Amendment of the Constitution in the state, Mayors from across the state met on Friday.
They discussed the problems that were being faced by the municipal corporations and later forwarded a memorandum to Chief Minister Mayawati in this regard through the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development, Govindan Nayar.
The Mayors threatened to resign from their offices if their demands were not fulfilled.
Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma said, though the Constitution has provisions for the autonomy of the civic bodies, the state government has shown little interest in this direction.
Sharma said: "The Panchayati Raj system and the de-centralisation of powers are the basic guidelines of our Constitution. But instead of giving more powers to the municipal corporations, Nagarpalikas or Panchayats, they are made handicapped. We want the 74th Amendment of Constitution implemented, that says about greater role of municipalities in local development, Mayor should have more powers on the 18 points defined by the amendment that includes urban projects, land use, industrial development, environment, transport, traffic, fire services and others."
He added: "Ambitious schemes like JNNURM have been launched in the state, still the progress is slow due to the lack of coordination with the municipal corporation. Any project under the JNNURM could not kick off even after two years of its launch. The government asked to remove beckons and security from the Mayors."
"The post of deputy mayor was scrapped. Why are similar steps not being against the MLAs or bureaucrats? We want the government to involve us in the policy-making pertaining to the cities. The suggestions of Mayors and corporators must be incorporated in the city projects," he said.
Supriya Aron, Mayor of Bareily, said, the Mayors had no real powers. "Public representatives are blamed for ineffectiveness of the municipal bodies. People have a lot of expectations from us, but we can't do everything. We can only recommend or suggest the Municipal Commissioner about the issues. Many times, we are unaware of the plans that are being implemented in the city," she said.