In what appears to be a rigid denial of a municipality for Aizawlites, the Mizoram government’s newest department, Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation has obtained the approval of village council presidents for its plans under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

In a meeting of VC presidents called by the UD&PA department, officials impressed on them the necessity for giving their approval for the plan saying the funds could by-pass the state if the approval is not given.
In view of this, the Mizoram Village Council Association, which had at first opposed giving any approval without knowing what they are letting themselves in for, cancelled its order not to sign anything and all VC presidents attending this meeting gave their approval for the plan for which a detailed project report has already been prepared.

According to the stipulations given under the Mission, all funds are to be given to local urban bodies, which in effect are municipalities. However, in the absence of this constitutional requirement in place in Aizawl, the Mizoram government had faced a hurdle and had to some fast talking in New Delhi. According to official sources, the Centre had been convinced that the state government would establish a municipality as soon as possible and that it would obtain the approval of the only local bodies in the state capital, the village councils, for the Centre to release the funds.

A member of the Mizoram Municipality Steering Committee has sharply criticised the state government saying it had been caught in a trap of its own making.

“Had the state administration given attention to establishing a municipality as required under the Constitution of India, all of these difficulties would not have arisen. As it is, the Centre let itself be convinced because it wants the development of Aizawl to commence as soon as possible. But the state should stop dragging its feet and constitute municipalities in urban areas as quickly as possible,” he said, adding that it was the hunger for power in politicians that had delayed the constitution of municipalities in the state.

The state government has drawn up a plan to utilise Rs 2000 crores for upgrading Aizawl during 2005 to 2012 which will increase to Rs 6000 crores in the up to the year 2031. A movement for the establishment of a municipality in Aizawl had begun as far back as 1997 when a group of like-minded people formed the Mizoram Municipal Steering Committee. This group had, unsuccessfully, urged the government to establish a municipality at least in the state capital. Even though the government had drafted a municipality bill, it had dragged its feet and the Bill, which had seen several years of preparation, is yet to be introduced in the state assembly.

Because of the government’s disinterest in having local urban and rural bodies as desired by the Constitution of India and the unsuccessful attempts of the MMSC to prod the government into movement, another organisation, Forum for the Implementation of Constitutional Rights in Mizoram (FICORM) was formed in late 2004 to augment the MMSC. Even these two organisations’ efforts proved to be futile as a result of which the state government faced the difficulties it has found itself in now over the JNNURM funds.

The Mizoram Municipality Bill is believed to be now ready for introduction in the Mizoram assembly and those who had eagerly been waiting for the Bill to be passed had hoped that the Bill would be introduced during the last assembly session held last month. However, despite the need to expedite passing of the Bill, the government failed to introduce the Bill again and had to do a lot of convincing at the Centre for the JNNURM funds to be released for the state.

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