MCC will fill vacancies in ward committees soon: Mayor

Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) will again invite applications to fill the vacant posts in ward committees, where the city corporation could not find eligible applicants, said mayor Premanand Shetty.
He was speaking after inaugurating a workshop for nodal officers and newly appointed ward committee members at Kundmul Rangarao Townhall here on Thursday.The workshop was organised by MCC and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy.
“Ward Committees act as a link between the ward residents and corporators who represent MCC. There are a few criteria for one to become a ward committee member. In some wards, we could not find eligible applicants. We will take steps to invite applicants in these wards and strengthen ward committees to function in their full capacity,” Shetty said.
“Mangaluru is the second city in the state to implement ward committees. The members have many responsibilities. They need to assess the facilities and infrastructure in the ward, ensure solid waste management happens effectively and timely collection of taxes, prepare and submit ward development schemes to the corporation among others. Hence, it is important that ward committees meet every month to enhance transparency, accountability and smooth functioning,” he said.
MCC commissioner Akshy Sridhar said, “Ward committees are a constitutional mandate. There were some challenges in forming ward committees in Mangaluru. We invited applications, objections and even assessed every objection we received. We worked with the police commissioner to verify the profiles of the applicants and then the final list was released. We are open to changes if any issues arise, even in the future.”
He added the commencement of ward committees, the dates and venues will be announced at the earliest.
Sapna Karim, head, civic participation, Janaagraha and Dr Shikaripura Krishnamurthy, director, Abhiyanam, Organisation for Research and Training in HRD, were resource persons.