The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Law for transparency in civic bodies

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Friday, Jun 12, 2009
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Law for transparency in civic bodies

Special Correspondent

It will motivate people to monitor utilisation of funds by civic bodies

Civic bodies will have to maintain, disclose information
Nodal officer for coordinating activities mooted

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the implementation of the public disclosure law from April 1, it has become mandatory for the city corporations and municipalities to disclose information regarding its functions to the public.

The State government, being a signatory to a tri-partite Memorandum of Agreement with the Centre and the Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi Corporations under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM), has been committed to implementing seven mandatory reforms, one of which is the public disclosure law.

All functions and services offered by the civic bodies as well as the utilisation of funds for various projects will come under the scanner. The date and time of submitting applications for various certificates and building permits and the time taken for issuing the documents will come to public glare. Implementation of projects, works taken up by the civic bodies and almost all their activities will be subjected to public scrutiny.

Public information

The civic bodies will have to maintain and disclose information on their functioning to the public on a regular basis in a specified format. The system is expected to motivate the people to monitor the utilisation of public funds. The overall accou- ntability for mandatory public disclosure of information will vest with the Secretary. It has been proposed to depute a nodal officer for coordinating various departments and sourcing the information in a timely manner.

The Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP), the Local Self-Government Department and the Administrative Staff College of India jointly organised a workshop for civic chiefs as well as elected representatives here on Monday. The workshop was aimed at familiarising them with the scope of the law and how it could be effectively implemented for bringing about an efficient and citizen-friendly governance. More sessions will be organised for the LSGI staff in the coming days.

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