Sanjeev K. Sharma
JAMMU, May 2: Incredible it may sound but it is true that all the 75 Corporators of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) are in fact Councillors while the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor are ‘unconstitutional’.
The startling exposure has been made by none else than the JMC Act-2000 which nowhere uses the term ‘Corporator’ for elected public representatives of urban local body of JMC but recognizes them as ‘Councillors’.
When contacted, JMC Deputy Mayor, Advocate Purnima Sharma said, she is very much aware of the fact and held absence of 74th Amendment of the Constitution as reason behind all this.
“Only with 74th Amendment the nomenclature of JMC elected representatives will change from Councillors to Corporators,” she said adding that they have already taken up the issue with Governor Satya Pal Malik’s Advisor K.K Sharma.
When asked how the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor are relevant without 74th Amendment as it is only Corporators and not Councillors who elect one among them as Mayor and Deputy Mayor, she said till the Amendment takes place ‘the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor are supposed to be unconstitutional’.
She further said that everything is ‘unconstitutional but still the system is running on’.
However, when these questions were put to Mayor, Chander Mohan Gupta, he said that it was the government which has made the Corporation but he agreed that he has no idea about the details mentioned in the Act.
“Earlier also there was Corporation with Mayor and Deputy Mayor,” he further said.
He also said though the Act is silent on Corporators it properly defines the powers, responsibilities etc of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Ex-JMC Mayor, Ch Manmohan Singh when contacted said though the Act was also very much there when he was on the chair in the year 2006 yet the postal and other communication the elected representatives used to receive or send officially, their letter pads and identity cards had designation of Corporators while the same is now Councillor.
He further said, though the 74th Amendment empowers urban local bodies, yet the same is not possible under a popular Government, as empowering representatives of local bodies is being apprehended to reduce the importance of MLAs.
“As the State is presently under President’s Rule whose local representative here is Governor, same can be done easily now,” the former Mayor said.
“Moreover, PM Narendra Modi is also showing keen interest in J&K so the Centre will also support the move of 73rd and 74th Amendments,” he maintained.
Adding pinch of political spice to the issue, he said: “The Government at present is that of BJP in the Centre so they can do it now. J&K is also under Central rule.”
Without naming the present Mayor, he said till the ‘chair-holder’ shows keen interest, nothing will happen in this regard.
“There will be no Swachta, no development and nothing else till the chair-holder shows interest,” Singh maintained.
He said that ground reality is that nothing is being done as per Act. “Where are the departments, funds etc with which the Act empowers the Councillors”? he asked.
He also endorsed that the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor are unconstitutional and added that without 73rd and 74th Amendments, the elections of local bodies is a ‘treachery’.
Few days back one of the JMC Corporators had an argument with the Mayor over the issue of nomenclature of Councillor wherein the angry Corporator in a comment on Mayor had said: “If we are Councillors you are also a President or Chairman and not a Mayor.”
It is pertinent to mention here that Councillors are the elected public representatives from urban local bodies including Wards of Municipal Council and Committees while from Wards of Municipal Corporations the elected public representatives are Corporators.
While the elected Councillors of Municipal Councils and Committees elect a President and Chairperson respectively as their head, those at Corporation elect Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
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