Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 20: BJP State general secretary & former Mayor Kavinder Gupta, while addressing a press conference here today, lambasted the NC-Congress coalition for its failure to implement the 74th Amendment of the India Constitution, which gives ample powers to Municipal Corporations.
Kavinder Gupta said that the elections to the Urban Local Bodies without the implementation of this amendment will prove to be a futile exercise. He said that even Section-42 of the J&K Municipal Corporation Act provides for functions of the Corporation but it is unfortunate that the powers have not been given to the Corporation and the concerned divisions of departments like PHE, PDD, R&B till date has not been handed over to the corporation. He further pointed out that as per Section-5 of the Municipal Corporation Act, an election to constitute the Corporation should have been completed before the expiry of its duration. The State Government even after about three years of the expiration of the term of last corporation has not taken any step to constitute the same.
Mr Gupta also pointed out that as per Section-6 of the J&K Municipal Corporation Act, the population in each ward shall not be less than 7500 but till date no step has been taken in this regard as a result of which there are certain wards which have population between four thousand to six thousand and in certain wards it is more than ten thousands, which is resulting in disparity and need to be removed before holding any exercise related to election of the Corporation.
Commenting on the recent notification issued by the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, Gupta said that the manner in which the JMC seats have been reserved for different categories seems to be politically motivated. It also seems that the whole exercise for reservation has been undertaken to debar the vocal and the genuine representatives who were instrumental for strengthening the last corporation. He gave instance of the reservation of the seats of former Mayors, Dy. Mayor and even the persons who had headed different committees of the corporation.
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