Only eight of the 18 functions prescribed under the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, which were required to be transferred to the urban local bodies, have been fully transferred by the UT Administration to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, according to an audit and inspection report of the municipal corporation for 2013-14, which has been prepared by the office of the Director General of Audit. The report says that while four functions have been partially transferred, six have not been transferred at all. The 74th Constitutional Amendment provides a basis for the state legislatures to transfer various responsibilities to municipalities and to strengthen municipal-level governance. [related-post] “Implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment is a mandatory reform to be carried out at the state level under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, and the functions listed under the 12th schedule were required to be transferred to the MC,” said the report. It added that the Chandigarh Administration has not transferred six functions to the corporation and these are being performed by the administration through the Estate Office, Chandigarh Housing Board, Social Welfare Department, Engineering Department, Sports Department and the Department of Urban and Town Planning. These functions include urban planning, including town planning, regulation of land use and construction of buildings, planning for economic and social development, slum improvement and upgradation, safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the physically and mentally challenged, and urban forestry, protection of environment and ecology. The partially transferred functions include roads and bridges, provision of urban amenities and facilities, including parks, gardens and playgrounds, and promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects. “In 2009, the administration, along with the MC, signed an MoU with the Central Government under which it was promised that all these functions would be transferred to the civic body within three to five years. But it has not happened because the administration is being run by kings who do not want to give power to the public. Even the Finance Commission took note of this. It seems the Constitution is not followed here in the city,” said councillor Satinder Singh.
