Following the announcement of the Urban Local Body (ULB) election by the government and various civil society organisations, town municipalities voicing against it, the government, on Saturday, issued a clarification.
Stating that the state government is duty bound to conduct ULB election as per the notified schedule, it informed that the Supreme Court, after a series of hearings, ‘directed that ULB elections must be held in Nagaland without any further delay in accordance with the 74th amendment of the Constitution that stipulates 33% reservation for women in ULB’.
In compliance with the Supreme Court order, the State Election Commission issued the notification for the election to be held on 16 May.
With regard to the main point of contention about the tax on land and building, it clarified that the provisions relating to it have already been removed from the Nagaland Municipal Act (NMA) 2001 by the NMA (3rd amendment) Act 2016.
The amendment of section 120 (1) (a) states that “All references and operative provisions relating to tax on land and buildings wherever these occur in the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 shall be deemed to have been omitted”.
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With some quarters requesting for replacement of the word “deleted” in lieu of “omitted”, it clarified that the words “omission, omitted and deleted” should be read as the same meaning as per legal opinion.
Regarding suggestions of nominating women in ULBs with voting rights instead of 33% women’s reservation of wards, it stated that the Supreme Court in its judgment categorically struck down this submission as “something naturally not acceptable”.
With regard to the reservation of women chairpersons, it stated that women’s reservation of chairpersons of the ULBs is notified as per Section 23B of the NMA 2001, as amended. To bring about fair play, the rotation is based on the alphabetical order of the ULBs, it added.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment dated 14 March 2023, “directed that the poll schedule will not be disturbed now and the election process be completed in terms of the schedule. The State Election Commission and the Government to make all necessary arrangements to ensure free and fair elections in pursuance to the notification and any violation by any authority or citizen is breach thereof would be an act in breach of the order of this court”.
Accordingly, the next hearing in the Supreme Court is scheduled on 18 May 2023 to ensure that the ULB election process is over.
Registered voters of the ULBs are requested to whole-heartedly participate in the forthcoming ULB election, it added.
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Nagaland: First ULB election with women reservation on 16 May
