Each Council, Committee to convene one meeting in a month
Seditious, defamatory words of members not to be tolerated
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 30: Over 20 years after the enactment of Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act by the legislature of erstwhile State, bye-laws have been framed in order to ensure smooth transaction of business by the Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees across the Union Territory.
In the bye-laws each and every important aspect like convening of periodic meetings, moving of resolutions, procedure for conducting No-Confidence Motion against President or Vice-President and procedure and conduct of business of Standing Committees has been dealt with so as to ensure that these Urban Local Bodies achieve the objectives behind their establishment without any difficulty.
Moreover, it has explicitly been mentioned that treasonable, seditious or defamatory words from any member of the Municipal Council or Municipal Committee will not be tolerated at all.
In the year 2000, the legislature of the then State had enacted Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act but thereafter no serious attention was paid towards framing of bye-laws vis-a-vis procedure and conduct of business by the Municipalities although Section 34 read with Section 51 of the Act empowers the Government in this regard.
The non-serious approach on the part of successive Governments in Jammu and Kashmir on this vital aspect was notwithstanding the fact that in the absence of the clearly defined procedure smooth functioning of the Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees was not possible.
However, the present Government has taken the initiative and framed the Jammu and Kashmir Municipality (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Bye-Laws, 2021, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
As per the bye-laws, while making speech in the meeting, no member of the Municipal Council or Municipal Committee shall make a personal charge against a member or officer or other employees of the Government or a Municipal Council or a Municipal Committee.
Moreover, they shall not make use of offensive expression regarding the Parliament or any Legislature or public institution; shall not reflect upon the conduct of Lieutenant Governor or any Minister or Chief Executive Officer/Executive Officer or any court of law and shall not utter treasonable, seditious or defamatory words, which will be taken seriously.
“The President may at any time cause any member or the public admitted to a meeting to be removed, if necessary by force, if such person interrupts or disturbs the proceedings of the meeting in any manner or resorts to activities which have not been permitted”, the bye-laws said.
Each Municipal Council and Municipal Committee will hold at least one meeting every month. While an ordinary meeting of a Municipal Council or a Municipal Committee will deliberate on issue of general Municipal administration, a special meeting will be convened for transaction of business of an urgent public importance.
“The quorum necessary for the transaction of business at an ordinary meeting will be one-third of the number of the sitting members subject to a minimum of three members while as quorum necessary for the transaction of business at special meeting will be one-half of the number of the sitting members”, read the bye-laws.
A member may ask during the first half of an hour of every ordinary meeting question on any matter relating to the Municipal administration of the area but no question will be asked which relate to a matter that is not primarily the concern of the Municipal Council or the Municipal Committee or which may or imply a charge of a personal character.
“No question will contain arguments, ironical expressions, imputations, epithets or defamatory statement; relate to the character or conduct of any person except in his official or public capacity etc”, the bye-laws said, adding “any resolution appearing in the list of business for any month which doesn’t come up for consideration within the next three months will automatically lapse”.
About procedure for conducting No-Confidence Motion, the bye-laws said, “whenever a notice in this regard is moved, a special meeting of the elected Councillors will be convened and such meeting shall be requisitioned and signed by not less than half of the total number of the elected Councillors”, adding “notice shall be issued by the President Municipal Committee/Council for the special meeting within seven days from receipt of requisition from the elected Councillors”.
“Such a meeting will be presided over by a Councillor elected by majority of the elected members and the persons against whom motion of no-confidence is moved shall have a right to vote and take part in the proceedings and the motion will be considered passed only if the same is supported by majority of the elected members”, the bye-laws further said, adding “in the event of both the posts of President or Vice-President falling vacant as a sequel to the passage of the No Confidence Motion, till the new President or Vice-President are elected for the remainder period, all the powers and duties under the provisions of Act and Rules or regulations shall be exercised by the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Officer of the Municipality”.
In such case, the process of electing new President or Vice-President for the remainder period will be completed within 30 days by the Deputy Commissioner (District Election Officer) of the concerned district.
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