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Municipality upgrade provision questioned

CHENNAI: The legal validity of a key provision in two Ordinances for the upgrade of the Erode and Tirupur municipalities as Corporations has been questioned in the Madras High Court.

Sub-clause 9 of Clause 9 of Ordinance 6 and 7 provided for the continuation of chairman, vice-chairman and councillors of these municipalities as Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Corporation councillors. They shall be deemed to have been elected to those posts.

The public interest litigation petition challenging the provision was filed by S.R. Subramaniam of Erode and R. Ramasamy of Tirupur.

In his affidavit, Mr. Subramaniam said the action of the authorities designating the chairman and vice-chairman of the Erode municipality as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the newly-formed Corporation was without any legal basis. It was mandatory that an election be held for the office of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

According to him, the promulgation of the Ordinance resulted in the discontinuation of the elected municipality, and the councillors too ceased to function. Also, the constitution of the new Corporation would result in the change of wards, and reservations should be made for each ward. “In the absence of new territorial limits and new wards, the promulgation of the sub-clause 9 of Clause 9 of the Ordinance is arbitrary, perverse and against the cardinal principles of democracy,” he said.

Mr. Ramasamy assailed the “novel procedure of promoting office-bearers of a municipality without framing laws and demarcation of wards,” and said it would render the democracy and the rule of law a mockery.

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