The Forum for Good Governance (FGG), on Wednesday, urged Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development department Arvind Kumar to immediately take steps to appoint ward committees for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) or municipalities across Telangana.
In a communication to the municipal secretary, a copy of which was released to the media, FGG secretary M. Padmanabha Reddy pointed out that the Telangana Municipalities Act had come into vogue in July 2019 to bring more “transparency and accountability” into the civic administration.
And, under its provisions, each ULB has to form 15-member ward committees giving due representation to women, youth, senior citizens and eminent persons. The ward committees are supposed to act as a bridge between people and the municipality.
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They are to discuss the concerned areas’ civic issues like roads, sewerage, water supply, street-lights and so on. Besides, they will also act as a pressure group keeping a watch on unauthorised constructions, property tax issues, and use of plastic, among others. These committees are also supposed to come up with a ward development plan that will be integrated into the overall municipality development plan in a typical bottom-up approach.
Effective functioning of municipalities is possible only through these panels and hence there is a need to expedite their formation, he explained in his communication.