Indian Express 21.12.2009
Business as usual after condolence, mayor tells corporators
PCMC mayor wants to put a stop to frequent adjournments of general body meetings
In an attempt to avoid loss of precious time for discussion of significant civic issues, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has decided to stop unnecessary adjournments of the general body meetings on various grounds. Henceforth, a civic general body meeting will be adjourned for a maximum of one hour after paying condolence to deceased persons, following which the house will proceed with its normal transaction.
Speaking to The Indian Express on Sunday, mayor Yogesh Behl said, “The corporators should not treat the civic general body meetings as a classroom of a school. The GB meetings are called for discussing important issues concerning the general public. If we keep adjourning the meetings now and then, the public at large will suffer,” he said. He further added, “It’s high time that corporators realised their social responsibility. The corporators should put their efforts for pushing citizens’ development agenda rather than exercising their vocal chords for seeking adjournments on not so strong grounds”.
The general body meetings are held once every month. The meeting held on Saturday was the first GB under the new mayor. In last 32 months, as many as 41 general body meetings of the PCMC have been adjourned. Even the appeal made by NCP leader Ajit Pawar, whose writ runs in the PCMC, seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
It has been a practice to adjourn the general body meetings for a day on the occasion of national or state calamities, death of members or their relatives, death of any prominent citizens, top national and state leaders. Corporators belonging to the Congress demanded that a meeting be adjourned after paying tributes to Manisha Bhoir, wife of Pimpri-Chinchwad Congress president Bhausaheb Bhoir, and mother of corporator Macchindra Tapkir on Saturday. Both of them passed away recently
However, Mayor Yogesh Behl was in no mood to relent. He said that the house could transact its normal business after paying condolences to the departed souls.
Congress corporators Amar Moolchandani and Babu Nair argued that in the past the house was adjourned many times due to the death of prominent citizens and there was no reason why it should not happen now. The mayor eventually conceded after a lot of argument.
Agreeing that the Congress was pressing for the adjournment, Nair said, “We were just following the precedent. We were not demanding anything unusual. The NCP has adjourned the house in the past on such grounds. Then why not now?” he asked. Nair however said the Congress would support the mayor in his effort to ensure that normal house transactions continued after paying condolences.
Municipal Commissioner Asheesh Sharma said there was no such norm in the BPMC Act stating that a civic general body meeting should be adjourned after paying condolences to the deceased.
The corporators take a call depending on the circumstances. Generally, GB meetings are adjourned due to the death of important national leaders or calamities,” he said. Sharma said the mayor’s suggestion will be implemented.
