For a transparent, efficient, accountable IMC
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: October 06 2011 -
Imphal city is growing at a rapid rate, its population as per the 2011 census has already crossed the 2 lakh mark and the facilities, the basic amenities are just not keeping pace with it.
It is not just in one area but in every sphere, be it in infrastructure, roads, drinking water supply, electricity, sanitation, the city is just not geared to meet the burgeoning needs of this rapidly growing population.
The city, as it were, is bursting at the seams, and so is the woe of its inhabitants. Adding to the misery of the Imphal city dwellers is the lack of efficiency and effectiveness of the various agencies and and institutions of governance which have been entrusted with the task of providing these basic amenities and facilities to the citizenry.
Imphal Municipal Council is one such institutions which was supposed to shoulder major responsibility of providing basic amenities and services to citizenry of Imphal city.
But the Imphal Municipal, at least for the last decade or so, has been almost defunct, unable to carry out its mandated obligations and duties. It has been plagued by inefficiency, controversies and of lack of funds.
For the common man the most visible manifestation of the Imphal Municipal Council non- performance are the mounds of garbage bang in the centre of the city. Invariably it turns out that the garbage is not cleared because the employees are on strike.
Why on strike, because they haven't been paid their salary for months together, lack of fund the culprit.
The situation is further compounded by the utter failure of the IMC to collect substantial revenue from its own sources. Over this, the controversies.
Just about a year back Imphal, a year long investigation of the working of IMC by a Committee of officers found gross financial irregularities and misuse of funds amounting to crores of rupees, abuse of power and administrative lapses. Consequently, the IMC was suspended for a period of 6 months.
Fresh elections to IMC was held and a new set of councilors and a Chairman took charge in the month of June this year. And we thought, this could be a fresh start. Leaving behind the controversies, the IMC could brace itself for the challenge ahead, so we thought.
But that was not to be, fresh controversies surfaced bogging this institution down once again.
As per the The Manipur Municipality Community Participation Act, 2010, it is mandatory to constitute a Ward Development Committee for each ward, consisting of the Councillor as Chairman of the Committee, the two elected ward members and two members of the civil society nominated by the government as its members.
But as of now, since the government is yet to nominate the two members of the civil society for each wards, the Ward Development Committees have not been constituted.
The whole idea of constituting the Ward Development Committee is to make the functioning of IMC more participatory, transparent and accountable and the failure to do so will defeat the very purpose of enacting The Manipur Municipality Community Participatory Act, 2010.
Already charges of Councillors misusing funds at their own discretion are doing the rounds. The elected ward members have already given notice to the government to constitute the Committee at the earliest. Already three months have been lost.
Do not sit over this issue, constitute the Ward Development Committee at the earliest.
Help revive the IMC into a vibrant, efficient, transparent and accountable body. Imphal city dwellers will need it so.
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