The Pioneer                07.05.2013

RMC to work without Mayor till July

Ranchi may not elect a new mayor for Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) before July as the State Election Commission (SEC) has shown willingness to wait for the publication of final electoral rolls and monsoon to end.  A review meeting was held at the commission’s office on Monday to examine all the aspects of mayoral polls.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Commissioner, Vinay Kumar Choubey and chaired by State Election Commissioner, SD Sharma. “We reviewed all the aspects and discussed issues concerning mayoral elections,” said Sharma.

Taking cognisance of the inconvenience caused to the voters during municipal elections the SEC has decided to wait until a revised electoral roll sans any discrepancies is published. The revision process will culminate with the publication of final rolls on July 1.

“We cannot move forward with the mistakes of the past on our back,” said Sharma adding “the revised rolls will address the issues which came to the fore on the municipal Election Day.”

While the people of Ranchi may be eagerly waiting for the arrival of monsoon the SEC is waiting for the monsoon to subside to hold mayoral polls. Sharma said, “We need to ascertain whether elections can be hold during monsoon” and that it is somewhat inconvenient to hold elections during rainy season.

Meanwhile, the election commissioner and Choubey who is also District Electoral Officer also discussed door to door distribution of voters identity slips in Ranchi as directed by the Election Commission of India. Incidentally, the commission today reiterated its stand on holding elections on the pattern of assembly elections and may reduce the number of polling stations.

“This time we have hold elections for one post only so we discussed reducing the number of polling stations,” said Sharma adding “this would help in reducing election expenses as fewer men and less material would be required for holding elections.”

The Indian Express              06.05.2013

Mumbai mayor among 16 Indians in US magazine’s ‘power’ list

MAYOR Sunil Prabhu, who heads the country's richest civic body, is included in the list of 500 most powerful people on the planet, compiled by US magazine Foreign Policy.

The three-time corporator in the Shiv Sena-led civic body, made the cut under the 'Politics' section along with Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj.

"I am honoured to be included in the list of the 500 most influential people. I am extremely grateful to Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray because of whom I have reached such heights," said Sunil Prabhu, Mayor and Shiv Sena corporator.

The magazine, however, did not describe in detail the level of influence wielded by the individuals on the list.

The mayor plays a vital role in making important political and administrative decisions for the city on various fronts. Over a dozen panels that he is the member of includes, the co-ordination committee, All India Council of Mayors, Bhau Daji Lad Musuem Trustee, major sports complexes, Maharashtra Mayor's Council, heritage committee, Sukanu Committee, Nehru Centre and the MMRDA's committee which decides on infrastructure projects in the city. The mayor is also responsible for the proper functioning of the the BMC, which includes providing proper amenities such as health, water, roads and garbage management.

Sixteen Indians who made it to the list also include people chosen under the 'force' category. These include Defence Minister A K Antony, Research and Analysis Wing chief Alok Joshi and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon.

The list includes presidents, businessmen, politicians, clerics, military commanders, and even terrorists from around the world.

Industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Lakshmi Mittal, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar were also included.

Sources based on which the list was compiled include, Top 100 NGOs, Soverign Wealth Fund Rankings and the Wall Street Journal Market Watch among other magazines and indices.