Direct elections of chairmen of Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees

CHANDIGARH, JULY 10 

On the lines of direct elections of the Mayor of Municipal Corporations for the first time in Haryana, a proposal has been prepared to conduct direct elections of chairmen of Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees to further empower the Panchayati Raj Institutions and Municipalities as envisioned by the Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal. Apart from this, the Chief Minister has also given in principle approval to convene a three-day session of Members of Zila Parishad and Municipal Corporations after every three months on the lines of Vidhan Sabha.

          This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr.Krishan Kumar Bedi while addressing a press conference held here today.

          In order to express gratitude to the people for the huge mandate  given to the party in the Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Minister will most  start ‘Jan Aashirvad Rally’ from Kalka on August 18 which will continue till September 8 and the day will be observed as 'Vijay Sankalp Rally'. The Chief Minister will cover six assembly constituencies in a day. Apart from this, the Chief Minister will also launch the ‘Rahagiri Program’ in every district from July 14 and in every district, it will be of one-hour duration in morning. The Chief Minister will connect with the ‘Rahagiri Program’ through video conferencing from Hisar, and NGOs and eminent people of the society, who are performing well and participating in these programmes, will be honored.

          On being asked about the directions given by the Supreme Court on the SYL issue yesterday, Mr Bedi said that the copy of the order of the court has not been received yet. The Chief Minister and the officers of Punjab and Haryana and the officers of the Central Government will jointly convene a meeting and discuss the order of the court, through which agency to carry out the work of the SYL. “This issue is important to us and we have right to have our share of water”, he added.

          When asked about the post-matric scholarship scam in the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Mr Bedi said that some cases are of 2012-13. The Chief Minister himself has taken cognizance on this matter and Haryana State Vigilance Bureau has been handed over its investigation. The facts will be clear after the investigation report is received. However such cases are dealt at directorate level only, he added.

          In response to a question asked regarding the comment made by Jananayak Janata Party leader, Mr. Digvijay Chautala on Ms. Sapna Chaudhary’s joining the BJP party, Mr Bedi said that the late Chaudhary Devi Lal used to say, “Lok Raj, Lok Laj Se Chalta hai, Parantu Us Parivar Ki Naitikta Aaj Kis Str Tak Pahunch Gayi hai”.

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