Nominations not elections to ULBs

October 27, 2021 26 Views No Comment

Correspondent KOHIMA, OCT 27 (NPN) : In order to avert another showdown with regard to the contentious issue of 33% women reservation in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the state government has decided to nominate members to ULBs for an interim period in the ratio of 70:30 with 70 male and 30 women representatives.

This was disclosed by minister planning & coordination, parliamentary affairs and land revenue Neiba Kronu while interacting with media persons here Tuesday. Kronu said the State government has constituted a committee to revisit the Nagaland Municipal Act vis-à-vis women reservation and whether it infringed upon Article 371 (A). He said the government would look into its recommendations and take a call only after the committee submits its report. However, since the committee might take some time to study the matter before submitting its report, Kronu said the government decided to opt for an arrangement whereby nominated members will run the ULBs for the interim period. He further said the Urban Development department would work out modalities for the nomination system.

Reacting to a recent statement by Rising People’s Party (RPP), Kronu said the nascent party had begun attacking the government over non-inclusion of women representatives in the committee even before the notification was out. He pointed out that the government had already included two women in the panel as members– Prof Rosemary Dzüvichu of Nagaland University and secretary science & technology Sotsula .

As earlier published in this newspaper, the panel will be headed by the chief secretary and also include representatives from Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC), Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) and Tenyimi Public Organisation (TPO) as members. It was also reported that chief minister Neiphiu Rio had on October 20 held discussions with representatives of CNTC, TPO and ENPO on the contentious issue, after which it was decided to form the committee.

He claimed that the State government was serious on the women reservation issue and had been briefing civil society groups and tribal hohos from time to time on the matter.

Consultation with ENSF over NSSB: Kronu said the issue of Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) could not be finalised at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He however, said consultation with Eastern Nagaland Students’ Federation (ENSF) was on and exuded confidence that the matter would be resolved.

ENSF had on Monday reaffirmed its September 16, 2020 order directing candidates from eastern Nagaland against applying for NSSB unless the State government addressed its “genuine and legitimate demands”.

Influx of Myanmar refugees: Kronu said refugees from Myanmar were arriving and taking shelter in Nagaland and expressed gratitude to civil society groups and churches for giving shelter to them. He said some refugees had arrived Mon district, though the number of refugees could not be confirmed for now. Kronu also said the state government would take decision on how to deal with the refugees shortly.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/nominations-not-elections-to-ulbs/243199.html