The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : State urged to devolve power to local bodies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 22, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

State urged to devolve power to local bodies

Staff Reporter

Chennai: Chairpersons of four municipalities in north Chennai have urged the State Government to devolve administrative powers and funds to local bodies.

At a consultation on the empowerment of municipal councillors held here on Friday, the heads of Tiruvottriyur, Manali, Madhavaram and Kathivakkam municipalities said 18 powers entrusted to urban local bodies by the 74th constitutional amendment should be immediately passed on to them.

The powers include town planning, land use regulation, water supply, public health services, and poverty alleviation.

“Planning permissions for new constructions are given by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. But, it is we who have to bear the brunt of groundwater depletion or sewage contamination,” said R. Gnanasekar, chairperson of Manali municipality.

Similarly, Madhavaram municipality chairperson D. Shanmugam said the local body lacked the resources to halt the indiscriminate extraction of groundwater by private tanker lorry owners.

A. Murugavel, chairperson of Kathivakkam municipality, regretted that there were no general funds available for councillors to take up local civic infrastructure works in the area.

Tiruvottriyur municipality chairperson R. Jayaraman said councillors could not even plan local drinking water supply schemes.

M.G. Devasahayam, managing trustee of SUSTAIN, a voluntary organisation for sustainable development, said that there were no consultations held with local bodies before the framing of national schemes such as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

He also charged that the scheme was against the interests of the urban poor, as it envisaged resettling slum dwellers several kilometres away from the core urban area.

A. Srivathsan, Assistant Editor, The Hindu, said capacity building exercises for councillors was as important as devolution of powers in order to have sustainable growth. D.S. Sivasamy, retired Additional Director of Municipal Administration, spoke.

The consultation was organised by the Human Rights Advocacy and Research Foundation.

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