Saryu Roy meets President, raises local body demand

Jamshedur East MLA Saryu Roy met the President Ramnath Kovind on Wednesday and urged him to facilitate formation of a Municipal Corporation in Jamshedpur or devolution of Industrial City status on the township.

Jamshedpur: Jamshedpur East MLA Saryu Roy met the President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday and raised several issues relating to Jamshedpur. He also gifted his soon-to-be-published book to the President and sought his intervention in constitution of either a municipal corporation or devolution of industrial township status on Jamshedpur.

During the meeting on Wednesday, MLA Saryu Roy submitted a charter of demands to the President and also gifted him his upcoming book.

The MLA urged the President to come out with a positive intervention on the issue of constitution of a civic body providing for electoral participation of the citizens of Jamshedpur.

The President, after listening to him carefully, assured of necessary initiatives.

By submitting a memorandum, the MLA also informed the President about the non-formation of a municipal corporation in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, as per the provisions of the 74th Amendment of the Constitution of India.

He said that the citizens of the city being deprived of their legitimate rights in this regard.

He said that he is in favour of constitution of a lawful municipal corporation in Jamshedpur by the Jharkhand government.

He told the President that the Jharkhand government had decided to set up a municipal corporation in 2005. An Act was passed by the Assembly. But the decision was not implemented.

He told the President that Article 243Q of the Constitution provides for the formation of Municipal Council in smaller urban areas and Nagar Panchayat in areas transitioning from village to city.

He told him that before the 74th Amendment of the Constitution, the municipal bodies of smaller urban areas were called municipalities and the municipal bodies of transitional areas were called “Notified Area Committees”.

A time limit of one year was set for the implementation of the provisions of the 74th Amendment.

However, he said, even after so many years of the amendment, Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee is still functioning in Jamshedpur, which is not constitutional.

The MLA told the President that Jamshedpur is a large urban area. After the 74th constitutional amendment, a municipal corporation should have been formed or industrial city status should have been devolved on it.

He said that as a public representative of Jamshedpur, many times since the year 2005, he has been demanding decisive steps from the State and the Central Government, but till now the solution has not been found.

He appealed to the President to give the citizens of Jamshedpur the rights that the constitution mandates and to pave the way for the formation of a Municipal Corporation or devolution of Industrial City status on Jamshedpur.