Assam: DC asks Chairperson, Hailakandi Municipal Board- perform duties
Hailakandi
In the wake of lot of complaints related to the functioning of Hailakandi Municipal Board, the district administration has asked the municipal body to pull out all stops in performing its duties ‘sincerely, honestly and promptly’ to the satisfaction of the people.
Dashing off a letter to Chairperson, Hailakandi Municipal Board, Shyamali Roy on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner Adil Khan said the administration has been flooded with complaints around issues like choked drains, water logging, garbage collection, dilapidated roads, water supply and haphazard parking.
Instructing the municipal board to address the woes of the people, Khan said, “Being a democratically elected body, the Hailakandi Municipal Board has to be responsive and responsible to the people and address the problems faced by them.”
Drawing the attention of the Chairperson to Section 297 of the Assam Municipal Act, 1956, Deputy Commissioner Khan categorically pointed out that the State Government, or for that matter, the Deputy Commissioner has been empowered to call upon the board to perform its duties for the sake of health or safety of the people and in the event of its failure to do so, may appoint fit and competent persons to execute the works in emergency situations.
Referring to Section 298 of the Act, Khan cautioned that the state government can exercise its powers to supersede or dissolve a municipal board in the event of ‘incompetence default or abuse of powers or its failure to provide services’.
The Deputy Commissioner also suggested to the Chairperson to dedicate one day in a week by the municipal board to listen to public grievances and redress them within a stipulated time frame so that ‘any kind of interference from the district administration is not required.’