Drawing attention to the recent statements made by various organizations with regard to the elections to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), principal secretary Municipal Affairs Department (MAD) I Himato Zhimomi said that the state government was duty bound to hold the ULB polls in compliance with the Supreme Court directive.
Drawing attention to the recent statements made by various organizations with regard to the elections to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), principal secretary Municipal Affairs Department (MAD) I Himato Zhimomi said that the state government was duty bound to hold the ULB polls in compliance with the Supreme Court directive.
Drawing attention to the recent statements made by various organizations with regard to the elections to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), principal secretary Municipal Affairs Department (MAD) I Himato Zhimomi said that the state government was duty bound to hold the ULB polls in compliance with the Supreme Court directive.
MAD clarified that the Supreme Court in the CA case no. 3607/2016 PUCL Vs the State of Nagaland has, after a series of hearings, directed the state government to hold the ULB elections without any further delay in accordance with the 74th Amendment of the Constitution that stipulates 33% reservation for women in ULBs and also directed the state government to issue the notification for elections to the ULBs by March 9, 2023.
Accordingly, the State Election Commission issued the notification for the ULB election schedule on March 9 with the polls scheduled for May 16, 2023. Thereafter the Model Code of Conduct was accordingly enforced.
Further, with regard to the issue of “Tax on Land and Building”, MDA clarified that the provisions relating to it have already been removed from Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 by the NMA (3rd Amendment) Act 2016. The amendment of section 120 (1) (a) states that “All references and operative provisions relating to tax on land and buildings wherever these occur in the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001 shall be deemed to have been omitted”, it stated.
With regard to request made by some section of the organizations to replace the word “Deleted” in lieu of “Omitted”, MAD clarified that as per the legal opinion, the words “Omission, Omitted & Deleted” have no difference but should be read as of the same meaning and character in context of the amendment issue in question.
On the suggestions of nominating women in ULBs with voting rights instead of 33% women’s reservations of wards, MDA said that the Supreme Court in its judgment dated February 22, 2022 had categorically struck down this submission as “something naturally not acceptable”.
On the issue of reservations for women chairpersons, MDA said that “women’s reservation of chairpersons of the ULBs was notified as per Section 23B of the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001, as amended. To bring about fair play, the rotation is being based on the Alphabetical order of the ULBs,” it said.
The department pointed out that the Supreme Court, in its judgment on March 14, 2023 “directed that the poll schedule will not be disturbed now and the election process be completed in terms of the schedule.
The State Election Commission and the Government to make all necessary arrangements to ensure free and fair elections in pursuance to the Notification and any violation by any authority or citizen in breach thereof would be an act in breach of the order of this court.”
Accordingly, it said that the next hearing was scheduled on May 18, 2023 only to ensure that the ULB election process was over.
Therefore, MAD has appealed to all registered voters of the ULBs “to whole-heartedly participate in the forthcoming ULB elections as notified with polls scheduled for 16th May 2023 and make it a resounding success.”
