The Pioneer 14.09.2010
Opp leader slams State Govt over basic allowance to MCD counselors
PNS | Dehradun
The leader of the Opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) Ashok Verma has questioned the apathy of the State Government towards the need for basic allowance for counselors elected in the MCD.
Verma said that even though the MCD board had unanimously approved the proposal for facilitation of basic allowance to the counselors, the State Government has maintained its apathetic attitude towards the counselors on this issue.
Apart from the leader of the Opposition in the MCD, Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli himself has said that the State Government should ensure that counselors receive basic allowance as elected public representatives.
According to the information confirmed by official sources, counselors in many States receive basic allowance as elected public representatives. Whereas the members of Parliament and members of Legislative Assemblies receive basic allowance, the counselors elected to office have not been receiving allowance on the similar lines.
According to Verma, he along with other public representatives has met various elected public representatives and Government officials. When they met former State Chief Minister and senior Congress leader ND Tiwari to seek his suggestion regarding their demand for allowance, the veteran politician told them that as counselors they are able enough to take care of such issues on their own.
Counselors of both the BJP and the Congress state that unless they receive the minimum allowance, they cannot be expected to ensure the public welfare, because they themselves are occupied in the struggle to make the ends meet.
On condition of anonymity the counselors themselves state that they are unable to ensure required action to redress problems faced by the public, because many of them are occupied in trying to make their own ends meet. Though the MCD Board had approved the proposal for payment of basic allowance to counselors, the State Government has taken no action in this regard so far. As a result of the protracted apathy of the Government, the counselors have been left in a position wherein they have no motivation and are practically unable to ensure the redressal of problems faced by the public.
