A first for state: Karnal to host mayors’ meet from September 2

The 53rd annual general meeting of the All India Council of Mayors will be held in Karnal on September 2 and 3, marking the first time that the event is being hosted in Haryana. The mayors from across the country will gather to deliberate on future development plans for their cities and to strengthen the role of municipal leadership in urban governance. Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar will inaugurate the conference.

More than 70 Mayors representing 21 states are expected to attend the two-day conference. Previous meeting of the Mayor Council was held in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh on March 13-14, 2023. A meeting of the executive body of the Mayor Council was organised in Panchkula on June 6 this year under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

Karnal Mayor Renu Bala Gupta, who is also the convener of this year’s conference, said that elaborate arrangements had been made by the Karnal Municipal Corporation to host the event successfully.

She highlighted that the meeting held special significance as it was expected to push for the effective implementation of amendments in Sections 73 and 74 of the Indian Constitution in all states. These amendments aimed at empowering the Mayors with more administrative power at the local level.

During the conference, the Mayors will share ideas and showcase the achievements of their respective cities. Karnal will also highlight its progress, particularly its third-place ranking in the Swachh Survekshan survey. “We will present the steps taken by Karnal that helped us achieve the recognition,” Gupta said. In addition to policy discussions, the general body will also constitute a new working committee of the Mayor Council after deliberating on key issues.

The Mayors will also be taken on a cultural and educational tour which includes visits to the historic Brahma Sarovar, Jyotisar, Bhadrakali Mandir, and the Geo Gita Gyan Sthalam in Kurukshetra. On the final day of the conference, Haryana Assembly Speaker Harvinder Kalyan and Urban Local Bodies Minister Vipul Goel will address the Mayors.