The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday gave time till July 17 for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to complete the process of setting up ward committees (WCs) in the remaining 67 wards of the total 198 wards.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Jayant M. Patel and Justice S. Sujatha passed the order when the counsel for the BBMP said ward committees had been constituted in 131 wards and it requires another three weeks to set up committees in the remaining wards.
The counsel said the BBMP was bound to verify the caste certificates and other aspects before nominating an individual to the WC as the law provides for reservation to people from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, women, and representatives of residents’ welfare associations in each ward. Every ward committee comprises 10 members, and the councillor of the respective ward would be its chairperson.
Meanwhile, the Bench asked the BBMP to verify whether persons nominated to each WC are qualified to hold the posts as per the 2013 order of the High Court, which had said that eligibility to become a member of the WC is the same as the eligibility to become a councillor.
On the grievances of certain NGOs that around 500 applications filed by citizens aspiring to be nominated as members of the various WCs were not considered by the BBMP, the Bench orally said it cannot issue an order in this regard without rules that mandate the BBMP to consider their applications.
The Bench, however, said the court can look into whether persons disqualified to be nominated to the WCs were nominated to the WCs if such instances were brought to its notice, and indicated that it may examine whether guidelines are required for making nominations to the WCs.
