HC notices to government in PIL plea over not constituting Ward Committees in GHMC

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation even after three years of election does not have a ward committee and instead ward offices have been constituted which are manned by officials, point out Forum for Good Governance in a PIL in the High Court

Telangana High Court on Monday issued notices to the State government after hearing a PIL petition seeking direction for creation of Ward Committees in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

A bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Tukaramji passed the interim direction. The bench directed the government to respond on the points raised in the plea by August 21.

Forum for Good Governance (FGG) represented by its secretary M. Padmanabha Reddy, which filed the plea, contended that it was mandatory as per Article 243-S of the Constitution of India and under Section 8A of the GHMC Act-1955. The petitioner wanted the HC to declare non-creation of the Ward Committees as illegal and arbitrary.

Ward Committees provide a voice to residents at grassroot level in deciding action plans for the development of their respective localities. GHMC elections were held three years ago but the mandatory Ward Committees were not constituted till now, the petitioner said.

Instead of creating the committees, the GHMC had decided to set up Ward Offices which would be manned only by officials. This replacement of Ward Committees with Ward Offices with 10 officials was a violation of Article 243-S of the Constitution, the petitioner maintained.

“GHMC is already suffering with the shortage of staff. That being the case, the present proposal of diverting 1,500 staff to cover 150 wards may not be possible,” Mr. Padmanabha Reddy said in the PIL petition. He questioned in the petition why the GHMC should be deprived of Ward Committees while the nearly 129 municipalities and 11 corporations in the State have got the ward committees.

In a separate matter, the bench instructed the State government to obtain instructions over filling up the post of President of Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The direction was issued in a PIL petition seeking appointment of the President to TSCDRC.