Guidelines for holding area sabhas issued

The Greater Chennai Corporation has issued guidelines for holding area sabhas. On Thursday, an orientation was conducted for area sabha secretaries and ward committee secretaries under the chairmanship of Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi.

Each ward has 10 area sabhas and there are 2,000 area sabhas in the city.

“The broad focus of the orientation was to ensure that views of the public regarding development are sought and passed onto higher officials,” said a senior Corporation official. The sabha resolutions will be passed on to the zonal officers ensuring that there was meaning to public’s voice. 

The councillor is by default chairperson of the ward committee meetings and area sabhas. Ward committees consist of nominated representatives from each area and the quorum prescribed by the guidelines is the chairman plus two members. The assistant engineer of the ward is the secretary of the ward committee.

According to guidelines, the functions of the ward committee secretary include issuing notices regarding the date, time and venue of the meeting, preparing the minutes, preparing a list of ongoing development works, schemes and tax defaulters for the committee’s perusal. 

The area sabha secretary is tasked with the same duties as the ward committee’s secretary. The guidelines state that area sabhas will be conducted in schools and community centres in the ward and that the secretary must communicate details of time, place and venue at least four days in advance. Additionally, ₹5,000 will be allocated towards covering contingency measures that arise when conducting a sabha. 

Councillors have been directed to convene these meetings at the earliest, as both ward committee meetings and area sabhas must take place every three months, according to the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies (Ward Committee and Area Sabha) Rules 2022.