Shravan Hardikar
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner, Shravan Hardikar, has issued a directive asking officials to ensure that no resolution that is “bad in law” is implemented by them. Civic departments and officials have been asked to verify the legality of resolutions passed in various meetings before taking any decision to implement those. Officials said the commissioner has warned them of strict action if any such resolution was found to have been implemented.
“I have asked officials to ensure that any resolution that does not conform to the laid down rules and regulation and is passed in civic meetings, like the standing committee meetings or the civic general body meetings, is not implemented,” said Hardikar.
The PCMC chief said earlier resolutions that are “bad in law” were referred to the state government. “Since they used to remain pending with the state government for long, the government asked local bodies to take a decision on those. Therefore, I have asked officials to ensure that resolutions that are bad in law are not implemented, or are scrapped after verifying their legality,” he said.
Asked as to how many such resolutions have been passed so far, Hardikar said they do not have the numbers yet.
Asked why the administration does not verify a motion before it is passed as a resolution in the civic meetings, the PCMC chief said it is because the resolutions or the sub-suggestions and amendments to the motions are introduced by the members at the last minute before getting passed. “A majority of those are corporator-specific motions and not from the administration’s side,” he said. Asked if he would require to invoke special powers to do away with “bad in law” resolutions, Hardikar said: “There will be no need to invoke special powers, as we will be straightaway keeping the resolutions, which are bad in law, aside.”
Civic officials said the administration ensures that before a motion is tabled, the legalities are verified and it is made doubly sure that the motion is not “bad in law”. But, the officials said, corporators in a bid to assert their powers often try to push such resolutions without even getting them properly verified from civic departments and experts.
According to officials, corporators from the BJP, which has a majority at the PCMC, seem to be in the forefront when it comes to getting “bad in law” resolutions passed.
BJP leaders denied the allegations saying corporators from all parties are responsible for such acts. “It is not only BJP corporators. Corporators from other parties also introduce last minute motions, which are then passed and they become resolutions. The BJP welcomes the administration’s decision to not implement resolutions that are bad in law,” said BJP general secretary, Pimpri-Chinchwad unit, Sarang Kamtekar.
Seema Savale, who was the standing committee chairperson till March this year, said some corporators or members of the committees try to push resolutions. “But when I was the chairperson, I ensured no illegal or a resolution that was bad in law was passed,” she said welcoming the administration’s move.
The latest directive from Hardikar comes a month after the civic administration announced that students from private schools who have secured more than 90 per cent will also get Rs 1 lakh cash reward. Earlier, the reward was only for civic school students.