Manish Tewari bats for 5-year term of Chandigarh Mayor, will raise matter in Parliament

Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has strongly supported five-year tenure for Mayor in the city. He said he would incorporate the proposal in the Private Bill, which he would be introducing in parliament in near future.

Tewari said the present one-year tenure of Mayor is a totally failed system. The elected mayors are not to blame but the system is a structurally failed model. The one-year term gives little time to a Mayor to work on his or her ideas. The city has witnessed around 30 mayors since the formation of the Municipal Corporation. There is a need for a consensus over the issue, he said.

“With due respect to the competence, efficiency and intelligence of all mayors who have served Chandigarh, their ability was also constrained by the structurally unsound model,” said Tewari.

When the first election of the corporation were held in 1996, one big mistake was committed knowingly or unknowingly regarding fixing the tenure of the Mayor for one year. Due to this decision, the power and rights of the Mayor compared to administrative powers are becoming unequal. This has created an insidious power play situation, he said.

The MP said as councillors are elected for five years, there is no justification in fixing the Mayor’s tenure at one year. He said he was also in favour of electing Mayor directly as well as putting in place the provision for his removal by councillors with two-thirds majority.

Tewari said the Central Government was giving Rs 5,800 crore to the Chandigarh Administration. Out of this amount, Rs 1,800 crore must be allocated to the Municipal Corporation.

Meanwhile, Jasbir Singh Bunty, Senior Deputy Mayor, supported Tewari’s views on a five-year term of the Mayor and direct election. He said it would ensure unhindered development of the city.

Panel recommendations

A committee formed by the Cabinet Secretariat in 2018 had recommended a five-year tenure for Municipal Councils. It has all chief secretaries of UTs as members. The committee recommended a five-year tenure for mayors. It was against giving voting rights to nominated members of the Municipal Corporation. However, the UT Administration differed on both recommendations. In its reply to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Administration said it has been decided that the issues needed to be discussed at the next Administrators Conference.