Itanagar
The state assembly on Thursday adopted a private member’s resolution on constituting a high level expert committee to suggest requisite amendments in the existing Municipal Council Act and rules with due modifications for a well defined local urban bodies before conduct of its next election, moved by Pasighat MLA Kaling Moyong.
While another private member’s resolution seeking effective mechanism for adoption of DRDA contractual employees was withdrawn by the mover Mutchu Mithi without any discussion.
Urban Development & Town Planning Minister Nabam Rebia, while acknowledging the suggestions of the members to reform the Municipal administration informed that government is contemplating for Nagar Panchayat in the state and is working on reforming the Municipal Council Act with setting up of high level committee with senior bureaucrats to make it more accountable for effective administration. He said that though the Municipal council Act was implemented in 2008 at Itanagar and Pasighat, it could not bring out any impact in providing basic civic amenities due to lack of proper planning and accountability and emphasized on reforming the municipal administration for better functioning.
Earlier, while urging the government for initiating appropriate statutory and administrative reforms to ensure effective and efficient delivery of municipal services, robust accountability, better governance and improved financial management of urban local bodies, Moyong said that due to rapid urbanization, people from rural areas migrated to urban place thus posing much difficulties in management of urban areas due to lack of proper town planning including sanitation, water supply, electricity, disposal of solid-liquid waste management etc.
Despite implementation of the Municipal Act in two urban cities of Itanagar and Pasighat, no visible impact of Municipal services is seen in the ground level and citizens are suffering due to non functioning of Municipal councils properly, Moyong stated and strongly sought for appropriate requisite reforms to bring about accountability and transparency in municipal administration besides effective implementation of the Municipal Act.
Ziro MLA Tage Taki and Bomdila MLA Japu Deru also supported the resolution while advocating for constitution of a concrete committee to streamline the system of functioning of Municipal council before its next election.
Earlier on the day, the house took up various issues during question hour.
