PIL on ULB polls: Govt seeks time to respond
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, May 16 2022:
The state government has sought time from the High Court of Manipur to respond to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed over non-conduct of the elections to 26 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and halting the caretaker chairpersons from continuing charge immediately.
The petition filed by one Sanoujam Shyamcharan Singh was heard by a division bench of the Manipur High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Lanusungkum Jamir on Sunday.
During the hearing, the govern ment sought time to respond to the matter.
As such, the Court fixed the next hearing on June 15 .
According to the petition, the election to the 26 ULBs in the state, including the ULBs of Imphal West, Imphal East, Jiribam, Kakching and Bishnupur District, along with Imphal Municipal Corporation (IMC) has been delayed by the government even after 5 years.
Instead, caretak er chairpersons have been appointed for the ULBs which is against the law.
As such, the petitioner urged for such acts to be halted immediately and the elections for the 26 ULBs be conducted at the earliest.
The PIL continued that the last election for the 26 ULBs was last held in January, 2016 and the five-year term period lapsed on June 5, 2021 .
Manipur only has one municipal corporation i.e., IMC.
The election for the ULBs initially could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic and as such, the state government appointed caretaker chairpersons to continue operations.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly election in two phases on February 28 and March 5, 2022, with strict adherence to the Disaster Management Act, 2005.At present, the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided significantly in the country and the restrictions previously imposed under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 have all been withdrawn effective from April 1.However, the state government is still refusing to hold the election for the 26 ULBs, thereby depriving the people of their rights.
As per the provisions under Manipur Municipality Act, 1994 and Part-IX A of the Constitution, the state government is not empowered to appoint a caretaker chairperson for any ULB.
The government orders issued on March 14 and April 8 are against the law and cannot be enforced.
Thus, the petition urged for revocation of the appointment of caretaker chairpersons for ULBs immediately, and holding the elections at the earliest.