Elected ‘netas’ cannot hold civic bodies to ransom: HC

Hitting out at elected representatives for illegal activities, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court said they must not cripple the functioning of any municipal corporation for their vested political interests. The HC further said, by indulging in illegal activities, the representatives are betraying the mandate of the democratic process.

Apart from these strong observations, the high court has issued a slew of directions to all the civic bodies across Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), for constituting standing committees.

“The elected representatives in a democratic process cannot be allowed to cripple the functioning of corporations only because of their political interests and rivalries. Such situations not only betray the mandate of the democratic process but they result in crippling the functions of bodies like Municipal Corporations which are required to function for the betterment of the public at large,” observed a division bench of Justices Prasanna Varale and Manish Pitale.

The observations were made while dealing with a bunch of petitions filed by elected councillors of Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC). The councillors had challenged the election of the chairperson of the standing committee and also the appointment of half of its members. The standing committee has 16 members, eight of whom retire every year and their replacements are to be identified before the annual meeting.

The councillors, in their petition, claimed the election of the chairperson and also the appointment of the members of the Standing Committee had been made in violation of the provisions of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations (MMC) Act. They argued that the retiring members were not short-listed in advance and their replacements were also not identified by the committee.

In his defence, the newlyelected chairperson blamed his predecessor for not shortlisting the retiring officers and also the fresh members.

Apart from these strong observations, the high court has issued a slew of directions to all the civic bodies across Maharashtra, including the BMC, for constituting standing committees

He also blamed the councillors for purposely petitioning the HC instead of approaching the government for seeking a remedy to their grievances.

Having considered the contentions, the bench in its comprehensive judgment said all municipal corporations including the BMC must ensure that the chairperson of the standing committee shortlists the names of the members due to retire and also nominate new members to replace them.

“Such directions are being given by this Court, although the statutory provisions of the MMC are very clear but the corporation and its elected members have chosen not to follow the mandate of the law. These directions are required to be given only to ensure that the democratic process of election of members of the Standing Committee and its Chairman, is followed in letter and spirit,” the bench