North East News Agency

With the Cabinet having decided to introduce the Mizoram Municipalities Bill 2006, a landmark in the democratic process, the State is all set to enter where people will have more participation in what is to be done about their localities in urban areas. Having dilly-dallied for more than ten years to implement 74th Amendment of the Constitution of India for all states to have municipalities, the Mizoram Government has finally been forced to introduce the Bill since without this, it cannot receive funds amounting to more than Rs 2000 crores under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNRUM).

The Bill, according to Chief Secretary Haukhum Hauzel, seeks to establish municipal boards in all district headquarters and a municipal council in the State capital. Hauzel said while the criteria for constituting boards was for a town to have at least a population numbering 50,000, this criteria will not be met by all district headquarters. However, he said municipal boards will be constituted even in those district headquarters which do not meet the population criteria.

Aizawl, with a population of nearly three lakhs, will be more than eligible to have a council since the population criteria is 1.5 lakhs for a municipal council. This, however, still falls quite short of the population criteria needed for a corporation which has to have at least 1 million in population.

While welcoming the move on introducing the Municipalities bill, the Mizoram Municipal Steering Committee, which had been pressurising the State Government for such a bill since 1999, said the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution should also be introduced where local urban bodies in rural areas would get more empowerment than its present state under village councils.

Lalmuanpuia Punte, an MMSC member said although it was not mandatory for states to have panchayati rajs under the 1992 Amendment, empowering the people under this amendment would be more beneficial for the people than the village councils, in their present State. “Our happiness would be complete if the 73rd Constitution amendment is also introduced in the State since this would mean more empowerment for the people. Empowering people in urban areas is not enough, the rural folks also need empowerment,” he said.

The introduction of municipalities in the State would entail several changes in the Government of which two important new additions would be a finance commission and an election commission. The Chief Secretary furrther said that electoral roll would be adopted for municipal elections by the State Election Commission..

Mizoram | North East Enquirer (Headlines) | Nena Home Page |