‘Powerless’ mayors demand say in projects

“Financial delegation powers of the municipal commissioner have been increased from Rs 2 to 10 lakh. But the Mayor has a say in very few projects that take place in civic bodies with the budget exceeding Rs 10 lakh,” said Dinesh Sharma,Lucknow Municipal Corporation Mayor and state president of UP Mayor Council.

The memorandum further stated that though under JNNURM,it is mandatory to take the approval of the civic body before releasing funds for any project — views of the elected representatives are not taken into consideration. While the state finance commission and other committees have time and again said that development agencies should work under the aegis of the Mayor,it is yet to happen,it added.

“The state government has deducted funds from the Lucknow civic body on account of Jal Sansthan’s (LJS) electricity bill. The reason being cited is that the LJS is a part of the civic body. Despite recommendations,development authorities like State Urban Development Authority and others are yet to come under the aegis of the mayor. Then,how can they cut the funds of LJS when it is functioning as a separate entity?” asked Sharma. The money is meant for salaries of the employees,gratuity and other payments,he added.

Gorakhpur Mayor Chowdhary Kaushlendra Singh said,“The experience of elected representatives should hold more value as we can relate with the problems of the people.” Allahabad Mayor Chowdhary Jeetendra Nath Singh echoed similar views. “The rights of the public representatives have been reduced. We are not even apprised of the meetings related to developmental works,” he said.

Meerut Mayor Madhu Gurjar said she wants to meet Chief Minister Mayawati to apprise her of the problems being faced by mayors. Kaushlendra Singh,Mayor of Varanasi,said: “Whenever we write to the government regarding our problems,we do not receive any answer.”