New Indian Express: Chennai: Sunday,
15 September 2024.
The report suggests that government should mandate ULBs to hold quarterly meetings, and maintain meeting records in the public domain.
Two years have passed since
the state government mandated the conduct of area and ward sabhas every three
months across all urban local bodies (ULBs). However, a recent RTI response
obtained by the NGO Voice of People (VoP), in which only 126 out of 663 ULBs
responded, 86% reported holding meetings only between one and four times per
ward over the past two years.
“Instead of consolidating responses from all ULBs under their (respective) jurisdiction, these departments redirected the RTI queries to individual ULBs, thereby evading accountability,” said VoP member Charu Govindan.
Despite requesting information from all 15 zones, RTI responses were received from only zones 1, 2, and 12. Each ward should have 4 to 10 area sabhas, meaning 16 to 40 area sabha meetings every year. The responses suggest only six provided meeting minutes.
According to regulations, area sabha meetings are scheduled quarterly. Charu said that while officials initially assured holding area sabhas from January 1 to January 24, and a ward sabha on January 25, many ULBs are not following the practice including in the GCC.
The report suggests that government should mandate ULBs to hold quarterly meetings, and maintain meeting records in the public domain. “Conducting all area sabhas within three months is challenging because of recurring public issues; like road repairs, may not be resolved in that timeframe,” a councilor told TNIE.
The report suggests that government should mandate ULBs to hold quarterly meetings, and maintain meeting records in the public domain.
“Instead of consolidating responses from all ULBs under their (respective) jurisdiction, these departments redirected the RTI queries to individual ULBs, thereby evading accountability,” said VoP member Charu Govindan.
Despite requesting information from all 15 zones, RTI responses were received from only zones 1, 2, and 12. Each ward should have 4 to 10 area sabhas, meaning 16 to 40 area sabha meetings every year. The responses suggest only six provided meeting minutes.
According to regulations, area sabha meetings are scheduled quarterly. Charu said that while officials initially assured holding area sabhas from January 1 to January 24, and a ward sabha on January 25, many ULBs are not following the practice including in the GCC.
The report suggests that government should mandate ULBs to hold quarterly meetings, and maintain meeting records in the public domain. “Conducting all area sabhas within three months is challenging because of recurring public issues; like road repairs, may not be resolved in that timeframe,” a councilor told TNIE.
.JPG)
.JPG)
