Plea in Bombay HC against extension of mayoral tenure

The petitions, scheduled for admission on March 13, point out that as per the draw of lots by the Urban Development Department of the State Government on August 2, 1999, ten out of the 15 posts of mayors in the State had been reserved for backward class candidates. Accordingly, the aspirants for the post had started preparations for the same.

Patil told The Indian Express that by extending the tenure of mayors from one year to two and a half years, the Government had contradicted its own directives issued on the reservations for the mayors’ posts in all the municipal corporations. The petitions further allege that the Government’s decision had deprived persons from scheduled castes, tribes, OBCs and women from becoming mayors. The Government’s decision has been attributed to the political interests of the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance in the State.

The decision had annoyed corporators as it means that there would be only two mayors in the five-year life. Earlier, the mayoral post used to be rotated among candidates of various sections of society every year by a draw of lots.

In a meeting last month with the Maharashtra Mayors’ Council, Nashik Mayor Dr Shobha Bachhav had discussed the issue of granting more powers and tenure to mayors. The meeting, attended by 13 out of the 16 mayors from the State, had passed resolutions on the demands. Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly, Narayan Rane, who was also present at the meet had said that though he personally felt that the tenure of one year was adequate for a mayor to prove his or her performance, he would not oppose the move of the Government to extend the tenure.