TN to hold Area Sabha meets from Nov 1

CHENNAI: For the first time in Tamil Nadu, the meetings of Area Sabhas of urban local bodies (municipalities, town panchayats and municipal corporations) will take place on November 1, celebrated as Local Governance Day.  Chief Minister MK Stalin will participate in an Area Sabha meeting at Ward 6 of Tambaram Corporation. He will interact with people and hear their grievances. 

The move will fulfil the long-pending demand to constitute Area Sabhas and Ward Committees and conduct regular meetings. On June 24, the State government issued guidelines on constituting the Area Sabhas and Ward Committees for urban local bodies. The number of Area Sabhas and Ward Committees will differ depending on the population of each urban local body. 

A top Tambaram Corporation official said, “Tambaram Corporation has 70 wards and each ward is divided into nine Area Sabhas with one member heading it. So, there will be 630 Area Sabhas. These can be described as a deep-rooted bottom-most democratic layer in urban local bodies.”

“During the Area Sabha meeting, works completed, works to be done, details of tax defaulters, micro-level needs of the people are among the issues to be discussed. Only people belonging to the particular Area Sabha can attend the meeting. To convene an Area Sabha meeting in Tambaram Corporation, at least 200 people should be present,” the official added. 

To meet once every 3 months
A senior Municipal Administration department official said the constitution of Area Sabhas 
and Ward Committees for all urban local bodies had been completed. They will meet once in three months.