Suryaa National Desk: Surya National Bureau, New Delhi: Various municipal... Surya National Bureau, New Delhi: The heads of various municipal corporations strongly urged the central government to bring radical changes in the governance of the municipal corporations, which play a vital role in the development of towns and cities in the country. At a time when the Center is planning to bring in a 'Mayor in Council' style system with fixed tenure of five years for directly elected mayors, representatives of the municipal bodies have clarified that the ground realities are different. They expressed concern that although the municipal laws look strong on paper, the mayors do not have any executive powers in the field and have become mere decorative posts.
Complaints of mayors about the lack of executive powers: Despite being directly elected by the people, the mayors have no control over the municipal commissioners and other high officials. It was recalled that mayors have no role in writing the annual performance reports (ACRs) of municipal commissioners or in their transfers and appointments. They stated that the citizens put a lot of hope on the mayors who are the elected representatives of the people to solve their problems, but due to the lack of powers, they have to give up their hands in fulfilling the aspirations of the people. They demanded that the 18 key functions prescribed by the 74th constitutional amendment should be fully transferred to the local bodies.
Huge delay in audits – Demand for audits by CAG: The meeting had a heated discussion on lack of financial transparency in municipal bodies. The representatives explained that the inspections conducted by the state auditors are being delayed for six to eight years due to which financial irregularities and misappropriation of funds are not coming to light in time. According to the rules, tenders should be called for works exceeding Rs.5 lakh, but violations are taking place in many places. The city leaders have asked the Center to conduct a special audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the financial transactions of municipal bodies or bring a strict law that the pending state audit does not exceed two years to rectify these lapses.
